Random Images

Having finally gotten around to uploading

my pictures from the past several days,

I present them in no particular order.

Sails on the River

Roosevelt Elk

Shoddily digiscoped Black Phoebe


Under the Crab Dock-
extreme low tide



Driftwood

a Jetsomed Tire

Rose

Google photo meme

where you grew up

where you live now

your first name


your grandmother's first name

your favorite food

your favorite drink

your favorite song

your favorite smell

Search Google Images for: Place you grew up. Place you live now. Your name. Your grandmother's name. Your favorite food. Your favorite drink. Your favorite song. Your favorite smell.

Copied from Badgerings.

Rose

Oatmeal Raisin Chocolate Chunk Walnut Cookies

As a bonus, here's our littlest one:

Rose

Traffic Court

I never even made it to the courtroom today. All that was involved in traffic court was marking "Not Guilty" and signing the summons on the back. They'll send me a new summons for a hearing in the mail in four to six weeks. At any rate, I'm prepared for them now.

Rose

Civilized Girl

Dinner with Civilized Girl and Civilized Man turned into three hours. We had salad rolls, green curry, red curry, pad thai, and sticky rice with a fresh mango to crown the meal. After that we walked around town and chatted. It's special when you find friends that you fall into such an easy pattern with as if you've known them forever.

Rose

jumbled thoughts

I feel tired after a full weekend of work. We are meeting new friends this evening for Thai food. Tomorrow I have traffic court for a speeding ticket. I spent today on the telephone, running batteries dead on all the cordless phones. Thoughts go out into the universe for a close friend who fourth pregnancy coincides with some major changes in life.

Water is falling from the sky.

Rose

Jazz- book review

That I have loved only you, surrendered my whole self reckless to you and
nobody else. That I want you to love me back and show it to me. That
I
love the way you hold me, how close you let me be to you. I like your
fingers on and on, lifting, turning. I have watched your face for a long
time now, and missed your eyes when you went away from me. Talking to you
and hearing you answer- that's the kick.

~Toni Morrison Jazz

The descriptive and imaginative writing is bound together by an ever present thread. In the end, it is an improbable love story that rings true on many levels.

Rose

Little Miss Sunshine- movie review

Anti-Hollywood

Individuality

Family

Unconditional Love

Inspirational

Spring Is On Her Way

Brownie- dream journal

We were on some kind of school bus trip. Everyone but Brownie and I had gone somewhere and it was just the two of us on the bus cuddling. Just like always, it didn't go anywhere at all, but it felt very comforting and companionable. Then I confessed my lack of rhythm and he offered to teach me to dance.

(Brownie was the boy I had a schoolgirl crush on for so long I'm embarrassed to admit it. We were barely friends, probably because I was too tongue tied to speak in his presence. I heard that he's married with a bunch of kids now.)

Sronnoc Esor

lazy day

I was put on call both days this weekend. I got called in at 0500 Sunday to work for only a few hours. I had just gotten to sleep when they called and I didn't feel like going to bed when I got home, so I stayed up all day, taking a short nap in the afternoon. I guess that justifies staying in bed all afternoon, right? The only problem is that my hands are cold from playing on the computer. What I need is computer gloves, right?

I did speak with Mother and Father. This is the second week now that they've been mum about their pastor leaving, which I found out from Big M. I wonder how long they'll wait to mention it. I wonder what Father's role in it might be.

Our housing situation is moving. I can't say anything because I don't want to jinx it. I'm keeping my cold fingers crossed.

Rose

My Inheritance

I received this beautiful framed needlework in today's mail. Granny made it and it always hung on her wall. It will always be a lovely reminder of her.

Rose

The Illusionist- movie review

link

I'm a real sucker for a love story, and this is nothing if not that. Add intrigue, mystery, suspense, and just plain confusion and you've got a winning story. The sets, costumes, and effects were pleasing to the eye. jc felt that it was pretty slow in the middle, but I saw no such lack. The story leaves enough ambiguity at the end for the viewer to believe what they wish, and spend a little extra time wondering about it- maybe even watch it again....

Rose

A Walk in the Rain

Skunk Cabbage

Skunk Cabbage- again

the Lighthouse

Misty Lake

Rose

The Science of Love

Check out this story from CNN for modern day, MRI explanations for why being in love feels so good, why breaking up hurts, and why sex has less to do with it than you thought.

rc

Clawed- dream journal

I pointed out a red-tailed hawk to a friend. She lured it with a treat, which it came and ate. Then she wanted to touch it. It came close and she and I both touched it gently. It reached over, seeming to want to return the gesture, and touched me on the hand. As it removed its foot, its claw caught in my hand and the skin tore. All the layers of skin tore off my hand like a glove, leaving a bleeding piece of meat. I saved the skin, approximating it as closely as possible, and applied a pressure dressing. I wondered whether to go to the emergency room or wait for office hours and go to the doctor's office. I remembered a clinic nearby and went there. A nurse practicioner sewed my skin back on. We had just moved into a new house and I was giving a house warming party. I couldn't cook anything because of the injury, so there was nothing to eat. While the guests visited with each other, I was busy trying to clean up the nastier messes that the previous owner had left.

I decided to go back to Africa for the summer. I signed up with the same group I went with before. They accepted my application and we started having preparatory meetings. Part of the training was learning to play softball.

Sronnoc Esor

Songcatcher- movie review

link

A delightful story about a music professor from England who discovers ancient preserved ballads among the mountain people when she goes to visit her sister in Appalachia after a professional disappointment. The characters are well developed and believable and experience real personal growth throughout the course of the story. The costumes and sets are well done. But most of all, the music is great. Reviewers treated this movie harshly, but I enjoyed it completely.

Rose

More Options

What if we bought a commercial building with attached living quarters and jc opened a personal training gym?

I'm all for it. How soon can we move in?

RC

creepy class- dream journal

I must have been a teacher's aide for a third grade class. Both the teacher and I were brand new at the job. Strange things were happening. Then the teacher discovered an old yearbook hidden on a dusty shelf. She looked up the third grade and the faces were all the same as the students we had now. Somehow we both knew that this was a very bad sign.

I woke up startled. And with a good idea for a ghost thriller.

Then I walked many miles to the house of people I used to know. There were two big black dogs in the yard. One was barking, but the other one looked mean. I knocked on the door and asked the woman who answered if she knew where the Jones family was living now. She looked at me strangely and tried to get me to leave. I told her that I was there on almost a daily basis when the Joneses lived there and she invited me right in. When I looked around the house was completely different from before.

Another sequence involved driving through a field filled with slushy snow and something about religious books.

I got tangled up in the Christmas tree lights. Most of them weren't working anyway.

Sronnoc Esor

Why so Quiet

I haven't felt like posting much lately, mayble largely because I've been doing a lot of thinking about our future. We now have only two and a half months to find somewhere to move into at the end of April. We've been spending a few days a week scouting a neighboring town.

The town we've been living in for the past two years since we moved to Oregon is starting to show it's seamy side. The Mill used to be the major employer; since it closed five years ago or so, the town has seen a steady downward spiral. Now everyone either draws welfare or gets their check signed by the state, with some exceptions. We hear numerous complaints about how much better life was when the Mill was still here. The dropout rate at the school is high. Top activities for kids are skateboarding and duning (ATVing). There is a paucity of nice restaurants.

We had fine tapas at a restaurant in Neighboring Town this week. I had a cheese plate and jc had, according to him, the best chowder he's had in Oregon. We walked around the shops and just generally enjoyed ourselves. There's nowhere to do that here.

I've also been doing some serious thinking about my career. I've always been interested in labor and delivery. The hospital I work at now doesn't deliver babies. A move would make exploring that career path possible, with the option of becoming a midwife if I find that I really like it and want to continue in that direction.

If we buy a home in Current Town, we're no longer confident that property values will rise in a satisfactory manner. The homes in Neighboring Town are selling for similar prices, but the neighborhoods are much nicer and the homes seem nicer.

People from Current Town have always scorned Neighboring Town as being too "uppity" and "expensive". We're still looking for options, but we're obviously leaning in that direction.

Rose

I made a Zwinky

PMS is over

For once, I feel better now that my period has arrived. I went canoeing with Self-Powered Man today. I've stayed comfortable all day with just a Thermacare wrap for my back. SPM then came to the house (he treated us to Japanese food) and we watched a movie. I got hungry and baked an applesauce spice cake. Now we're comfortable and happy and the kitties are playing.

Rose

More Sundries

Work- I showed up at work Saturday with a headache after minimal sleep. Various staff members were making loud jokes about a difficult patient who had just been discharged. I interrupted to remind them to be discreet. Coworker ZsaZsa walked into the middle of it and piped up that her sense of humor allowed joking publicly about patients. We locked horns on that one. I reiterated my position and stated that I wasn't trying to cause trouble. I hoped that everyone else couldn't see how badly I was shaking. Nothing but the silent treatment from ZsaZsa for the next several hours. Dr. ChickenFarmer came back and asked for extra help in the ER, and I took the opportunity to escape momentarily. Morgen, the ER nurse, was nice enouh to notice that I looked shell-shocked. After a bit, I had a moment to sit and sip a cup of tea, and thus recovered.

PMS- The past several days I've had a nearly constant headache, combined with the expected breast tenderness and general moodiness that served to make the above described situation into a catastrophe. jc is the picture of understanding.

Smoker- Our Meco barbecue smoker arrived Friday. A pork roast has been smoked. Look for news on the pending turkey smoke.

Rose

Twelve Monkeys- movie review

link

If you don't buy time travel, stay away from this one. I personally get a big kick out of messing with the space/time continuum, preferably when it doesn't involve a time machine or a spaceship. Wormholes, unexplained phenomenon, stuff like that: it's all great. Twelve Monkeys completely sucked me in, entertained me, jarred the cogitator, there was even a little intense bit or two. I had to rewind the first ten minutes or so and watch it over because I wasn't paying close enough attention.

The best part of it all, perhaps apart from Brad Pitt's wacky impersonation of a lunatic, is the choose your own ending. (Spoiler here) Since James Cole is present at the airport at age 8 and also as an adult, even though the adult is killed, the boy can grow up, go underground, and come back to try to save the human race for a limitless number of times, potentially until he gets it right. Who knows, after enough attempts he may even live happily ever after. On the other hand, all Witchy Lady Scientist has to do is slip a little poison in Bioterrorist's champagne, assuming that is, that he didn't already release the virus, which he almost certainly did. But that would potentially save al the other cities. Just pretend Philadelphia is a house with termites and tent it.

Rose

Miscellaneous

A) Living Arrangements- Following a friend's tip, we made the short trip to a nearby town to look at a house for sale. We're still basically at the drive-by level at the moment. The house is in a development planned by the home owner's association. All the landscaping is au natural- native trees and shrubs. The homes are relatively new, most not visible from the street, and on largeish lots for the area. We're waiting for a call now to move forward, but let's just say that it looks promising. One way or another, we're out of here in the end of April. If the house doesn't work out, we rent somewhere else.

B) Employment- With the impending move comes the choice of commuting to the old job or looking for a new one. There aren't so many hospitals around here, so looking isn't too involved. I had tossed around the idea of signing up for a 13 week travel job including housing/stipend. That doesn't look like it's going to pan out unless I'm willing to majorly relocate, which I'm not. (Confession: Got a little snippy with the recruiter who called at 8:20 AM today- says she makes all her calls at that time. I let her know that it's just basically rude to call before nine.) I'm looking forward to the possibility of working somewhere that delivers babies. I'd like to have the option to get into that area at some time.

C) TTC- I continue to use the progesterone cream during the luteal phase. In addition, I just started taking Vitex Agnus Castus aka Chasteberry. It is supposed to have the effect of balancing estrogen and progesterone. That's been shown in studies to relieve PMS and possibly allay menstrual pain. An undocumented claim is that it promotes fertility. The hypothesis is that Vitex also reduces prolactin levels. Hyperprolactinemia is a known culprit in infertility, although little talked about. Basically it prevents implantation. If Vitex lowers the prolactin level to normal, pregnancy may be possible for me. To be frank, that's a tenuous hope, though. We're in cylce 33 this month since I went off BCP's. Statistically, that gives us a pretty low likelihood of success. And I'm pretty okay with that. I decided awhile ago not to be emotionally crippled by infertility or childlessness. Our life is too good for that.

D) Birds- A Great Blue Heron got an awful fright today when I startled a Red-Winged Hawk into flying over it. Great Blue flew off and squawked like a chicken before settling its gangly legs into the mud in a nearby spot. Red Wing sat there as if nothing at all had happened. After all, Great Blue is a bit big for him.

Rose

OILBF- dream journal

Old Italian Leaving BoyFriend showed at my parent's house while I was visiting and acted like he had never quit talking to me with no attempt at an explanation. Somehow, I fell for the ruse that he was a nice guy, although I did tell him that I was married. Then he joined the military and left one night while everyone was asleep. Outside, I found his footprints and a symbol drawn in the dirt that I interpreted as a farewell message.

(I woke up startled and scared that my mind had conjured this image of OILBF, and took awhile to fall back asleep.)

Sronnoc Esor

Stone Pillow- movie review

link

This made for TV movie with a serious Lucille Ball contains moments of truth and purity that give you something to think about. It makes me almost wish that all my stuff fit in a cart. As a bonus, Lucy's performance is impeccable. Well worth the watching.

Rose

Nonplussed- word of the day

"I was nonplussed when I learned that Landlady was asking $380,000 for this house, which the Bank appraised at $225,000; following which she accepted an offer of $250,000." R. Connors


non·plus (nn-pls)
tr.v. non·plused also non·plussed, non·plus·ing also non·plus·sing, non·plus·es also non·plus·ses

To put at a loss as to what to think, say, or do; bewilder.
n. A state of perplexity, confusion, or bewilderment.

[From Latin nn pls, no more : nn, not; see non- + pls, more; see pel-1 in Indo-European roots.]

hm();Sources=Sources 2;
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2003. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Shadow is Nuts

The nuts in this bowl were stale when we got them over a month ago. So I put them in the decorative handmade wooden bowl that we got for Christmas and put it on top of a tall speaker. Shadow has decided that a nut is a wonderful thing to play with. She regularly jumps up on the window sill and roots around until she gets one to pop out on the floor.

Rose

North Country- movie review

link

This film takes a good look at harassment, abuse, and unfair treatment of women in the workplace, the school, and the home. It is based on the life of real woman Lois Jenson and others who refused to submit to such treatment. It causes me to wonder: how often in life do we tolerate inequity because we fear the consequences if we stand up for ourselves? In the characters in the film, I see people I know and have known and a glimpse of myself. There is bigotry, fear, anger, desperation, compassion, but most of all, there is courage.

Rose

Hair

Having had enough of rinsing hair out of the tub and vaccuuming it off the floor, I simply cut it off. It's going to a good cause. I currently have the hairstyle you might expect if you cut off your ponytail: longish in front, short in back; call it a tellum. And my head feels so light.

rc

grandma comfort- dream journal

We went to see Grandma Comfort, who died ten years ago. Her back door was ajar, so we went in. We had heard something bad had happened and thought there had been a fire, but everything was intact. Dahlia Man's dog was locked in an upstairs bedroom. Everyone was acting as if Grandma had just died. People were going through her stuff and taking what they wanted. I stayed upstairs while everyone else congregated down in the living room. I was looking through all the old VHS movies and little trinkets Grandma had collected. She always had odds and ends saved up for presents, and I took some little notepads for my neice, A.E.

As we were getting ready to leave, there was a delivery. It was some kind of fabric, folded up and wrapped in plastic. Mother was already in the car and I took them to ask what it was. She took one look and told me not to worry about it. I realized then that they were chair covers for the funeral. I took them back to the house, where vendors were standing in line to talk to my aunts and uncles. They had decorated the downstairs in all white for the funeral, with white hangings on the walls and covering all the furniture. When Mother saw it she was appalled. The others had to go somewhere, and while they were gone, Mother put everything back the way Grandma used to keep it, with warm marigold tones. When the others came back, they were very upset. Mother explained that Grandma would not have wanted all the decorations and fuss, and they kept it that way.

Sronnoc Esor

Ma Vie en Rose- movie review

link

A Belgian film about a seven year old boy with a gender identity crisis. It is a touching and entertaining look at his struggles and fantasies, as well as his treatment by others. It is truly apropos that, at the end, he meets a girl who is troubled by the same malady.

It is always useful to have your thinking challenged and be reminded that everyone is not the same. This movie accomplished that.

Rose

Varied Thrush

jc called me out of the shower this morning: "I think you should see this bird." Indeed I should. The varied thrush is very elusive, hiding high in the trees in springtime, singing its beautiful song. Dahlia Man told me, when I noticed one in his yard, that they come down from the forest when it gets very cold. That explains it. We got our once-every-ten-years snow last week, and it was down to 17 degrees F.

Rose

manicotti

jc was so pleased with the "manigotts" that he took a picture and insisted that I post it here. So here it is.

Rose

Central Station- movie review

synopsis

This movie robs you of all faith in the goodness of mankind, then, bit by bit, restores it to you. It is a worthwhile foray outside the world of American film-making and the American life that we so take for granted. The roles here are so completely unexpected and foreign, and yet, I fear, very true. The filming is impeccable and non-judgmental, making the story come together in a believable and touching way.

Rose

inviting ourselves over- dream journal

We were hungry and for some unknown reason couldn't cook at home, so we barged in on a kindly neighbor and cooked there. jc did the cooking and did it all wrong, whilst making a huge mess. Neighbor had a Christmas tree up that was too large for the space, so he had cut two pieces off the top and displayed them elsewhere. Then his rather elderly wife showed up with two adorable adopted infants. I had to work hard to restrain myself from offering to take one off her hands. As I was cleaning the dishes, I began to notice that the kitchen counter was listing about ninety degrees, rendering it nearly unuseable. On the way home by boat, someone asked for help with their child who was seizing. He stopped when I got his attention and made him look in my eyes.

Sronnoc Esor

Daily Reading

Mother and Father send us a complimentary subscription to a biweekly conservative religious publication called The Sword of the Lord. When we received the daily Bible reading guide and calendar in the end of January, I decided to read through once with a more open mindset. jc agreed to participate in the experiment. We've just now finished the book of Genesis. To tell the truth, I had forgotten that there were so many racy stories in there. So far we've read about Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and Joseph; oh and don't forget Eve, Sarah, Rebekah, Tamar and Dinah.

rc

a few photos

naptime for the kitties- Shadow snuggles under the covers


snowy hot spring at McCreadie Station

Rose

Gone to the Mountains

We've been in the mountains for a few days, and I've been pretty lazy about writing. It snowed while we were there and left everything looking like fairyland. We found a natural hot spring and soaked one day while it was raining. That was a convenient time for a Korean language lesson.

We had a lot of great food; Ki'il and the Scholar like to eat. I discovered that corn bread bakes just fine in the microwave and that my white bean and tofu soup tastes much better when you don't forget the chicken broth.

Nordic skiing turned out to be easier than I expected. We enjoyed skiing one evening under the full moon. It also makes you really hot. I was wearing way too many clothes here and left most of that stuff at the hotel for future outings.

It's good to be back home. I got in three nights at work, which adds up to almost as much work as I had in the whole month of December. The kitties were glad to see us, too.

Rose

Staying Warm

Laundry isn't out of the dryer half a minute around here before there is at least one kitty nestled into it as seen above. That's just plain good sense when the heater doesn't work any better than ours does.

We're headed to the mountains tomorrow for a cross country or Nordic skiing adventure with Ki'il and the Scholar for a few days and I better crawl in somewhere warm and snooze awhile before our early start in the AM.

Rose

Year of the Pig (almost)

We welcomed the New Year last night with friends Ki'il and the Scholar. I made stromboli, then we went to the beach and built a bonfire. There was a huge driftwood log fifty or sixty feet long, and the Scholar built the fire in the corner created by a broken off branch. We roasted marshmallows and talked. The moonlight glinted silverly off the crashing white surf. The lighthouse spread its intermittent beam. Sporadic fireworks shot up. We were alone on the beach. Just at the stroke of midnight, we looked up to see the full moon surrounded by a rainbow. I discovered that this phenomenon is known as a corona. It wasn't as full last night as the picture, but I take it as an excellent omen for the year to come.

Cheers,

Rose

Beware Strange Men.

As I was sitting idly on the sofa wondering what to blog about today, I chanced to glance out the window and spy a mustachioed stranger on the porch. No sooner did I notice him than he knocked on the window. I recognized him as the neighbor who had been fixing his car as I went to the post office this morning and tried to engage me in conversation about holiday fare. Looking back at the computer, I calmly informed jc that there was a man at the window. We had just this morning discovered that it is possible to communicate through the windows, owing to their thinness.

The man spoke: "Is that my cat?" He pointed to my lovely Ailleanach, nervously skittering away.

jc replied, "I don't think so."

A short conversation ensued about the various tabbies in the neighborhood before the intruder scuttled off. I repressed the urge to vomit and instructed Ailleanach to bare her fangs threateningly should the situation recur.

A note on our living situation: jc is currently engaged in a diligent perusal of all available real estate. Landlady's appraisal came back too low & the deal will probably fall through. We're still getting out of here as soon as possible.

Rose

A big thank you to all my loyal readers who offered their sympathies.

rc

Remembrance

I learned today of Granny's death after a long illness. She was 89 years old. In the past five years or so, because of bad osteoporosis, she broke her hip, collarbone, pelvis, and some vertebrae. All but the last time she returned home to the farm after a stay in rehab. This time she had to go to a nursing home. In the last weeks, she became progressively, drastically worse, so that at time she no longer recognized family members. In her last letter to me, just weeks ago, she sorrowed that she could no longer walk without help.

I have been anticipating this for some time, and am grateful that she has been loosed from the trouble that plagued her in the last years. I am pleased to know that she died in her sleep, with adequate pain control, and family by her side.

I remember her life.

Granny was born in a very small, rural town in 1917. In the 1930's she took the train some ten miles to go to high school, then continued on to college to earn a degree in higher mathematics. She went on to earn her master's degree in the 1960's. She taught upper math at the local high school, by this time, much closer to home, until retirement. Everyone in the school district remembers her as a tough math teacher and as a woman whose hair was snow white in her thirties. She used to sit in the living room and work calculus the way most people do the crossword puzzle.

As if a teaching career weren't enough, Grandma raised five children and worked on the farm. There were no TV dinners then, either. She shamed me throughout her life by her industry. I would bet that she was still mowing the grass in her eighties and only stopped then because the family made a pointed effort to mow it before she could get to it.

She made delicious candy at Christmastime and peanut butter eggs for Easter. There are many dishes that she is known for making best. Anytime we visited near mealtime, she insisted on cooking "a little something." I'm not sure if we ever had a meal there that didn't include dessert.

At times, I was afraid to open my mouth around her for fear of saying something stupid. She stayed informed of current events, and had a certain knack for knowing what things really meant.

By my best count, she is survived by her five children, twelve grandchildren, and ten or eleven great grandchildren.

Rose

sad holiday for some

I am deeply saddened and appaled by this news story reporting the death of James Emerick Dean, 28 years old, at the hands of the police. The poor guy's crime was that he didn't want to go to Iraq, having already served 18 months in Afghanistan.

I know there are lots of angles to this: volunteer army, mental illness, taking pot shots at the police surrounding his house. Nonetheless, he is another casulaty of the war in Iraq. jc remembers a boy from his hometown who shot himself rather than going to Vietnam.

When will this end?

rc

dump- dream journal

We were living in what looked like a dump. I felt that we really needed to get the place cleaned up, so we started picking everything flammable out of the rubbish and built a big bonfire. It turned out that Mother and Father were staying nearby and their place didn't look any better. Then I realized that jc had forgotten to put the trash out two weeks running. I scolded him for it and he got very upset. It was near midnight, and I was preparing a chicken to roast over the open fire.

Sronnoc Esor

(Upon waking, I ventured down to the garage to make sure the trash was out. Of course it was.)

Christmas is over

I actually removed all the decorations from the tree yesterday. I took the lights off today, drug it out the door on a sheet, and threw it out for the garbage man to pick up tomorrow. It was enjoyed by all, especially the kitties.


Here's the surprise gift-that-I-didn't-want of the year from my step-mother-in-law. It's a Lenox China Jewels Musicals Winter Wonderland music box. Think we can sell it on eBay?








And this is our gift to ourselves. It's a Kitchen Aid ice cream maker bowl. And we got it for a steal.










Otherwise, we had a beautiful, peaceful Christmas; as I hope everyone else did.

Rose

The 39 steps- movie review

link

Here's a classic framed-for-murder-noone-believes-me yarn from Hitchcock. The hero is unwittingly drawn into international intrigue and politics, but in the end he cleverly solves the puzzle and, in the process, wins the girl. I enjoyed the points of clever cinematography like overlapping the train whistle with the charwoman's grisly scream. Thanks to jc for renting this one and furthering my cinematographic education.

rc

Whitman's sampler

Dahlia Man scored big with me by giving a Whitman's chocolate sampler that includes exactly zero creams. I despise creams. Before I discovered this fact, I offered jc the creams. Since there are none I reneged on my offer, telling jc to leave my chocolates alone. Yes, this year I plan to be a little piggie and eat the whole box myself. (Since I ovulated today, booze are out as a way of celebrating.) I'll worry about those five extra pounds around my hips later.

Rose

early Christmas photo blog

The dying Douglas fir tree.



Shadow, who is trying to pull it down.
(here seen sniffing people food)



Peanut brittle that I made as gifts for friends.



Korean art coasters: a gift from Ki'il and the Scholar.



Hearts's Desire paperweight: a gift from a coworker.
(She says to write what you want on a piece of paper, put it under the weight as a kind of charm. I'm giving up hope that I will ever get what I really want, but it was a nice thought.)




Bath stuff from Robin. Thanks bunches. Sorry I opened it early.

Rose

The Princess and the Warrior- movie review

link

(originally Der Krieger und die Kaiserin)

The beautiful and detailed filming of this movie immediately captured my attention. The visuals were a pleasure to watch.

The film weaves a tangled story that could result in a lovely weaving or a tangled mess. The lives of the main characters seem so inextricably intertwined that the story couldn't come out any other way. There is nothing transcendent here; on the contrary, any hope that the story offers is purely and deeply human. It leaves me asking,

Do we make our own destiny, or has it already been chosen for us?

rc

Lucky # Slevin- movie review

link

Although it is a bit more violent than I normally prefer, I thorougly enjoyed this one. There is definitely something to figure out & kudos to you if you do. Each subsequent plot twist was a new "aha" moment. If there were gaps or contradictions, I didn't notice them. With an all star cast including favorites Ben Kingsley and Morgan Freeman, the movie was worth watching just for the nice acting in it.

The sets were unreal. Quirky wallpaper and matching clothing just added immense visual appeal to the film. The wrap up at the end, where you find out what really happened, is done cleverly.

I don't want to ruin anything for you; if you don't mind a few killings, go out and get this one.

RC

Another View- book review

My most recent read for book club was Another View by Rosamunde Pilcher, New York Times bestselling novelist. Those who recommended the author said it was light reading, and indeed it was. Unfortunately, I was unable to invest myself in the story or the characters. The story was harmless enough, but a week female main character seemed to need men to make her decisions for her, and none of the characters really took human shape for me. I cannot recommend the novel and will be happy to move on to another author.

RC

Christmas baking

I've been talking about it for days and now I finally did it. I started. Little green Christmas tree sugar cookies are now happily waiting in the freezer. Gingerbread cookie dough is chilling in the frig, waiting to turn into little G-bread boys tomorrow.

Landlady came for the appraisal today. Actually landlady, her husband, and the appraiser all came. I was fortunately on the telephone with Robin at the time, so had a good enough excuse to ignore the intrusion nearly completely.

We watched two movies which I won't even bother giving separate space for reviews.

Garden State was an okay movie with a decent ending, but I feel that it lacked depth.

The Libertine was about a guy that was just way too fixated on sex. The portrayal of women in general was abyssmal. One character, the actress Elizabeth Barry, was worth noting because she stood up for her right to live her life her own way no matter what anyone thought. However, I couldn't even watch the thing straight through. I'm sure I missed some stuff as I was doing other things at the same time.

Now I'm off to put clean sheets on the bed: a wonderful everyday luxury.

rc

syncretic- word of the day

syncretic \sin-KRET-ik; sing-\, adjective:Uniting and blending together different systems, as of philosophy, morals, or religion.

Trinidad Carnival is a syncretic popular form, drawing on
Christian tradition and pagan ritual, fused in the vortex of plantation
society.-- Stuart Hall, "Calypso kings", The Guardian, June 28,
2002

In Cuba, the dominant religion is Santeria, a syncretic
mix of Roman Catholicism and Yoruba deities.-- Steve Fainaru and Ray Sanchez,
"Free agent", Boston Globe
Magazine, July 15, 2003

Compared to the syncretic, polytheistic empires of the
past, the 'doctrinal rigidity' of Judaic monotheism could be a source of both
solidarity and division.-- Dominic Lieven, Empire:
The Russian Empire and Its Rivals

In the hands of the gay right, the same individualism can produce a syncretic politics that draws from across the political
spectrum.-- Richard Goldstein, "Queering the pitch", The Guardian, May 15,
2002

Indonesia is known for its moderate, syncretic, inclusive
brand of Islam. People see no difficulty in worshipping Allah and sea spirits.--
Jason Burke, "Paradise lost", The
Observer, December 22, 2002

Syncretic is the adjective form of syncretism, from Greek synkretismos, "federation of Cretan cities," from sunkretizein, "to unite against a common enemy, in the manner of the Cretan cities," from syn-, "with, together" + Kres, Kret-, "Cretan."

Crash- movie review

link

This movie is completely full of such multi-layered prejudice. It takes the "right" away from any race and muddies the water completely. Does anything happen because of race? It makes me wonder if there really are good people and bad people, or if everything is just some strange happenstance.

It is also completely unexpected and, in places, gut-wrenchingly moving. I think, whether correct in its depictions or not, this is one movie that will keep me thinking for a while.

Rose

eWater House- .dream journal

jc and I were taking Dahlia Man's dogs for a walk. We had borrowed a truck from someone. We saw a beautiful house on the hill overlooking a waterfall and a pool of water and we went over there to look inside. It was still under construction and it turned out Landlady was building it. After we had explored for a while, Landlady came in. She was having people over for dinner. I started to ask her what she was doing there when I realized it was her house. I started to leave. jc was waiting outside on a raft in the truck. When he started to pull out the truck turned over on its side. One of the dogs was already in the truck and jc went to get the other one. The truck had somehow righted itself. I went back in the house because I had forgotten my shoes. I spilled chocolate milk on landlady's carpet. When I went back outside, we were parked in the garage and two trucks had us parked in.

Sronnoc Esor

Not a Fairy Tale Ending

I'm terribly sad that James Kim's body was found today.

I can't image what Kati is experiencing now. My thoughts are with her and the girls.

Rose

Lost- a true story

Kati Kim and daughters found

I'm strangely touched by the story of this San Francisco family. They were traveling in Oregon over a week ago when they got stuck in snow on a back road. Maybe it's because it sounds so much like something I would do. Matter of fact, it's very like something I did once. I got the car stuck in sand in the middle of the Utah desert, only noone knew where I had gone. I hiked to the nearest town for help, eventually leaving the narrow dirt road when I didn't like the direction it was going. It worked out for me. I caught a ride to my friend's house and they went and pulled my car out. That was the time I learned that putting a pebble in your mouth really does help you not to feel so thirsty.

These people were basically trying to go somewhere that there just wasn't a road. I get a little nervous in mid-summer if I'm on those roads after dark. The stretch of I-5 they had to drive on recommends tire chains if there's a chance of snow. Leaving that for BLM roads sounds a little foolhardy to me. I wonder about the human interaction in this story. Was it a joint decision to take this route, or did Mrs. Kim get understandably upset when they got stuck on a road she never wanted to take in the first place? If it had been us, it would have been jc getting upset because I got stuck.

I love it that Mom and the girls were found. I hate it that Dad went looking for help and...? His footprints indicate that he left the road. I can't figure out why he would do that, but I hope that he is found, however unlikely that may seem. My thoughts go out to the Kims.

Rose

Boss Lady- dream journal

Boss Lady was reaming me out at work for a variety of things, and I didn't take any guff from her. I had an answer for everything. Then we didn't have the right forms. Everyone was using other forms, writing in pencil, and erasing, a big no-no for medical records. All the erasing was shaking the table and I couldn't write clearly.

Then I was in some kind of surreal ceremony, probably church. At the end of the service, some lady claimed I was an angel and wanted me to come up on stage while the reverend went on about angels. I kept slipping off the stage, so I just sat in a chair in the front. Then the reverend starting asking me about oysters. I told him I ate a lot of oysters and he wanted to know how I prepared them.

At some point in the sequence, the congregation turned around and started attacking me. I helped a little girl escape by putting on a disguise and swimming away.

Sronnoc Esor

Roomies- dream journal

I was back in college, living in the dorms at BJU, and XBFRN was my roommate. I was jealous because he was inviting some girl from down the hall over to cook dinner for her. Then there was some kind of huge mess with M&M's all over the floor and I was worried that the hall monitor would find out a boy was living in the girl's dorms and we would all be in big trouble.

Sronnoc Esor

Ode to Elusive Peace and Quiet

We got the letter from our old landlord yesterday. He won't return our deposit and wants additional money. Apparently we wrecked the place so badly that he had to replace all the flooring. Cheap linoleum tile (over flakeboard over a damp crawl space) that kept coming up and crumbling. Carpets god knows how old that never got clean no matter how much I vaccuumed. On top of that he wants us to pay for repairs to the twenty year old dryer. jc wants to take him to small claims court to get our money back. I just want a place to live where no one can bother me.

We still don't know whether we can break a lease and therefore buy a house. First the landlady was offering us money to get out ASAP. Now, I wonder if her sale has gone through, since she's back to telling us we can stay out the lease. It makes me wonder if her sale has gone through. As someone at work wisely pointed out, the potential buyer hasn't been through the house again. Who would buy a home without seeing it at least twice? I just want a place to live where no one can bother me.

rose