bridgesitter
Thursday, June 30, 2005
Click here for the Rest Of The Story~Marvelous!
In January I wrote about the closing of the Salinas Libraries so you can imagine that I'm pretty happy about this article.
In Steinbeck Country, We Said No to Closing the Libraries
by Anne Lamott
"Salinas is one of the poorest communities in the state, within one of the richest counties in the country, the locale of so many of Steinbeck's great novels: Think farm workers, fields of artichokes, garlic, faded stucco houses stained with dirt, ticky-tacky housing tracts, John Ford, James Dean's face in ''East of Eden," strawberry fields, and old gas stations.......
".....My sad '60s heart soared like an eagle at the very name: an emergency read-in. George W. Bush and John Ashcroft tried for three years to create a country that the East Germans could only dream about, empowering the government to keep track of the books we checked out or bought, all in the name of national security. But they hadn't counted on how passionately we writers feel about saving the world, or at any rate, the worlds contained in the skinny, silent spines of books.
"We came together because we started out as children who were saved by stories, stories read to us at night when we were little, stories we read by ourselves, in which we could get lost, and thereby, found. Some of us had grown to become people with loud voices, which the farm workers and their children of this community all of a sudden needed. And we were mad. Show a bunch of writers a sealed library, and they see red. Perhaps they are a little sensitive, or overwrought, but they see a one-way tunnel into the dark. They see the beginnings of fascism".
At present the Libraries have reduced hours but they are still open! At least until the end of the year.
¶ 6/30/2005 08:33:00 AM 4 comments
In Steinbeck Country, We Said No to Closing the Libraries
by Anne Lamott
"Salinas is one of the poorest communities in the state, within one of the richest counties in the country, the locale of so many of Steinbeck's great novels: Think farm workers, fields of artichokes, garlic, faded stucco houses stained with dirt, ticky-tacky housing tracts, John Ford, James Dean's face in ''East of Eden," strawberry fields, and old gas stations.......
".....My sad '60s heart soared like an eagle at the very name: an emergency read-in. George W. Bush and John Ashcroft tried for three years to create a country that the East Germans could only dream about, empowering the government to keep track of the books we checked out or bought, all in the name of national security. But they hadn't counted on how passionately we writers feel about saving the world, or at any rate, the worlds contained in the skinny, silent spines of books.
"We came together because we started out as children who were saved by stories, stories read to us at night when we were little, stories we read by ourselves, in which we could get lost, and thereby, found. Some of us had grown to become people with loud voices, which the farm workers and their children of this community all of a sudden needed. And we were mad. Show a bunch of writers a sealed library, and they see red. Perhaps they are a little sensitive, or overwrought, but they see a one-way tunnel into the dark. They see the beginnings of fascism".
At present the Libraries have reduced hours but they are still open! At least until the end of the year.
¶ 6/30/2005 08:33:00 AM 4 comments
women surfers get their heat
My daughters rendition of the same surf contest I went too. Wow!
¶ 6/30/2005 08:23:00 AM 0 comments
¶ 6/30/2005 08:23:00 AM 0 comments
Wednesday, June 29, 2005
Take Back the Media
I just visited a site that has flash. Anyway I was totally floored by what I saw. The music was beautiful and ominous at the same time. It was Mozarts "Lacrimosa" though I don't think I ever heard it before I was engrossed by it. The images told a story I'd never heard before either. It was dreadful and eye-opening. Check it out by clicking the above title.
¶ 6/29/2005 05:36:00 PM 0 comments
Just tinkin' around and getting ebay eyes! I'm also practicing for when I actually leave this house and have to show my face to those I've avoided. I am also having a bad hair day. I hate flat hair, my kids say, "mom, you always have flat hair." Well it's unusually flat today! My neon pink is near washed out and is becoming something that resembles strawberry koolaid.
¶ 6/29/2005 01:20:00 PM 5 comments
Monday, June 27, 2005
Did I fix the Blog? & When Dogs Don't Eat
All day I have had two dogs staring me down. Siskiyou lets out a guttural growl, Gunnar comes and leans against my legs and does a little whine. Okay, okay, it's my fault. I bought the cheaper dog food last week and they won't let me forget it. So to supplement their diet they've been getting extra dog bones with slathers of peanut butter. This I do while taking a spoon for myself. I'm tired of looking at these big sad eyed dogs, or these big eyed sad dogs, or these bog dyed dad gogs!
I go into the kitchen, remember my kitchen window? It's very small down below this post. well I flamboyantly grab their bowl and put it on the counter. I grab the olive oil, all this time they are watching me with bated breath, tongues dragging, poor dogs, I throw in a few little splashes, ah, yes, what next? Oh, how about some Mrs. Dash? Yea, I'll give 'em a few sprinkles of that too. I grab the biggest spoon in the house and give it some good hearty stirring, and voila', Dinner is ready.
They loved it. Ahh, they roll on their backs getting dog hair everywhere, but hey, I'm their best friend again. ¶ 6/27/2005 08:47:00 PM 6 comments
I go into the kitchen, remember my kitchen window? It's very small down below this post. well I flamboyantly grab their bowl and put it on the counter. I grab the olive oil, all this time they are watching me with bated breath, tongues dragging, poor dogs, I throw in a few little splashes, ah, yes, what next? Oh, how about some Mrs. Dash? Yea, I'll give 'em a few sprinkles of that too. I grab the biggest spoon in the house and give it some good hearty stirring, and voila', Dinner is ready.
They loved it. Ahh, they roll on their backs getting dog hair everywhere, but hey, I'm their best friend again. ¶ 6/27/2005 08:47:00 PM 6 comments
Sunday, June 26, 2005
Window To The World
My Kitchen Window. Sometimes I do take advice Charles & Carl. You are heretofor recognized.
¶ 6/26/2005 02:39:00 PM 8 comments
Mozilla or IE? kittywompus?
I use Mozilla for my browser and so when I look at my blog things look okay. So then I was on the Internet Explorer browser and discovered that my blog is all screwed up. Are my links and Archives, and flickr all far down on the page to you guys, or is it like I see it side by side to my posts below the header? And if it's kittywompus how do I fix this? eeeeeck!!
¶ 6/26/2005 12:01:00 AM 3 comments
¶ 6/26/2005 12:01:00 AM 3 comments
Saturday, June 25, 2005
Surf Competition In Lincoln City
Today Anna was filming some of the Christian Surfing Competition on Nelscott Beach in Lincoln City, so Emily and I met her there. The kids' dad & stepmom are sponsors for it as he is a surfer from way back when. It was a gorgeous day, the sun warm, the sand and pavement hot. I got to spend some time with Anna which is always a good thing, she lives in Portland and sometimes it's hard to juggle schedules. So anyway we had a good time, I took some pictures of waves, and my kids, and more waves, and more kids.
This is Emily. Where ever we go or what ever we do Emily has to stop and pet, talk and hug every dog that walks by. She's very busy at the beach!
This is looking south away from the competition. It looks overcast, but it's not, I think it looks that way because I was facing the sun. Oops!
Here's Anna being silly. She usually is.....well most of the time. If you're looking for someone to photograph your wedding, or band or anything like that, she does that and she's very good at it. I always try to put a plug in for her. Starving Artist Syndrome, actually she has a job, but she does photography on the side.
You can probably tell that I'm not proud of these girls one bit, huh? The other two are missing today, but their day will come. ;-)
Here's a picture of a surfer and the cliff's that overlook Nelscott Beach.
I almost forgot to add a surfer surfing...So here's one of those...^
¶ 6/25/2005 04:14:00 PM 5 comments
Today Anna was filming some of the Christian Surfing Competition on Nelscott Beach in Lincoln City, so Emily and I met her there. The kids' dad & stepmom are sponsors for it as he is a surfer from way back when. It was a gorgeous day, the sun warm, the sand and pavement hot. I got to spend some time with Anna which is always a good thing, she lives in Portland and sometimes it's hard to juggle schedules. So anyway we had a good time, I took some pictures of waves, and my kids, and more waves, and more kids.
This is Emily. Where ever we go or what ever we do Emily has to stop and pet, talk and hug every dog that walks by. She's very busy at the beach!
This is looking south away from the competition. It looks overcast, but it's not, I think it looks that way because I was facing the sun. Oops!
Here's Anna being silly. She usually is.....well most of the time. If you're looking for someone to photograph your wedding, or band or anything like that, she does that and she's very good at it. I always try to put a plug in for her. Starving Artist Syndrome, actually she has a job, but she does photography on the side.
You can probably tell that I'm not proud of these girls one bit, huh? The other two are missing today, but their day will come. ;-)
Here's a picture of a surfer and the cliff's that overlook Nelscott Beach.
I almost forgot to add a surfer surfing...So here's one of those...^
¶ 6/25/2005 04:14:00 PM 5 comments
Thursday, June 23, 2005
Columbia River Gorge
This picture was taken by my daughter Anna aka Hummanna on flickr. This was taken on the Columbia river between Oregon and Washington. She says I can steal her photographs anytime I want, I just need to give her a little credit. Here's a little credit Anna! I love this picture and I love you. This picture makes me feel like I'm soaring with the eagles. Oh no, Cliff will have a comeback on that one.
¶ 6/23/2005 12:25:00 AM 12 comments
This picture was taken by my daughter Anna aka Hummanna on flickr. This was taken on the Columbia river between Oregon and Washington. She says I can steal her photographs anytime I want, I just need to give her a little credit. Here's a little credit Anna! I love this picture and I love you. This picture makes me feel like I'm soaring with the eagles. Oh no, Cliff will have a comeback on that one.
¶ 6/23/2005 12:25:00 AM 12 comments
Wednesday, June 22, 2005
Looking for my Happy Place
This painting depicts where I'd like to be right now! This painting was done by Michael Schlicting, (I even thought to get permission first before putting it here) Michael is an Oregon Coast Artist. If you'd like to find your happy place, may I suggest another of his paintings! l0l ¶ 6/22/2005 11:26:00 AM 1 comments
Across The Val D' Orcia
This painting depicts where I'd like to be right now! This painting was done by Michael Schlicting, (I even thought to get permission first before putting it here) Michael is an Oregon Coast Artist. If you'd like to find your happy place, may I suggest another of his paintings! l0l ¶ 6/22/2005 11:26:00 AM 1 comments
Tuesday, June 21, 2005
A Beautiful Story.....or most of it anyway
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) -- Police say three lions rescued a 12-year-old girl kidnapped by men who wanted to force her into marriage, chasing off her abductors and guarding her until police and relatives tracked her down in a remote corner of Ethiopia.
The men had held the girl for seven days, repeatedly beating her, before the lions chased them away and guarded her for half a day before her family and police found her, Sgt. Wondimu Wedajo said Tuesday by telephone from the provincial capital of Bita Genet, some 560 kilometers (348 miles) west of the capital, Addis Ababa.
"They stood guard until we found her and then they just left her like a gift and went back into the forest," Wondimu said, adding he did not know whether the lions were male or female.
News of the June 9 rescue was slow to filter out from Kefa Zone in southwestern Ethiopia.
"If the lions had not come to her rescue then it could have been much worse. Often these young girls are raped and severely beaten to force them to accept the marriage," he said.
"Everyone ... thinks this is some kind of miracle, because normally the lions would attack people," Wondimu said.
Stuart Williams, a wildlife expert with the rural development ministry, said that it was likely that the young girl was saved because she was crying from the trauma of her attack.
"A young girl whimpering could be mistaken for the mewing sound from a lion cub, which in turn could explain why they (the lions) didn't eat her," Williams said. "Otherwise they probably would have done."
To Read the Rest of the Article please click here.
Sunday, June 19, 2005
Friday, June 17, 2005
Yours truly
Hi! 8-) Keep in mind this is me first thing in the morning trying to look like I'm not taking a picture of myself. I really have a hard time trying to look natural, especially when I'm the one holding the camera.
¶ 6/17/2005 12:27:00 AM 6 comments
Thursday, June 16, 2005
Just Wondering......
My email home page is constantly showing butts. I mean butts everywhere. Naturally they're all perfect butts. Advertising some miracle cream of some kind. Then they have the gall to show the south beach diet ads, full length. We're talking side bars, headers, footnotes, what ever. What is the message I'm getting here? Is this America's way of telling everybody they're too fat? Is this how we're fighting obesity in this country? Why don't we have ads by the Agriculture Department showing wonderful pieces of tantalizing fruit, or freshly picked vegetables? Do we always have to rely on the sexuality of people and their presumed desire to please the opposite sex? Come on already!! These ads do nothing to promote healthy eating. If anything I think they would provoke bulimia and anorexia.
This stuff bothers me right along with the playboy bunny on the clothes of teenagers. Women have been fighting this exploitation for a long time now, and some how it has ended up on girls clothing. The very girls we've been trying to protect. Personally when I see these kinds of clothes I make an effort to complain to the store managers. I should probably write letters to the clothes manufacturers but as of yet I haven't.
Post Script here: guys don't even ask what my email homepage is! ;-) that would really tick me off!
¶ 6/16/2005 08:20:00 AM 10 comments
This stuff bothers me right along with the playboy bunny on the clothes of teenagers. Women have been fighting this exploitation for a long time now, and some how it has ended up on girls clothing. The very girls we've been trying to protect. Personally when I see these kinds of clothes I make an effort to complain to the store managers. I should probably write letters to the clothes manufacturers but as of yet I haven't.
Post Script here: guys don't even ask what my email homepage is! ;-) that would really tick me off!
¶ 6/16/2005 08:20:00 AM 10 comments
Wednesday, June 15, 2005
Tuesday, June 14, 2005
Tsunami Warning in Effect
Well lets see here, it's now 8:57pm and we have a Tsunami warning until almost 5am. The sky is clear, there is absolutely no wind. My poor daughter Emily just called, she's freaking out a bit as she's scared to death of any major weather changes. So she's heading out to her dads, he's about 10 miles inland. She'll feel safer there. We're about 500 feet from the cliffs here, but pretty high up, 70 feet or so. Of course I don't really know how high, but we are within 1 minute of being on the top of Cape Foulweather. I'm not worried in the slightest, I'm not being flippant here when I say this could be exciting. Can you tell I have no life? The fire department is a block away so if there's a siren we'll hear it. If I don't write tomorrow, well either my computers all wet, or I didn't get high enough. ;-)
¶ 6/14/2005 08:57:00 PM 5 comments
Tinkerbell & Johnny
This is Tinkerbell. She's tinkin' in the kitchen. I couldn't help it! She was only a buck at a garage sale. I just thought she was so cute with her little wings and all. Right now she's over looking the kitchen ready to yell should Captain Hook make an appearance.
This is for Aravis, meet Johnny Jump Up extraordinaire. These little guys are growing wild in my yard, I transplanted these to a row of Lobelia's. ¶ 6/14/2005 02:04:00 PM 4 comments
This is Tinkerbell. She's tinkin' in the kitchen. I couldn't help it! She was only a buck at a garage sale. I just thought she was so cute with her little wings and all. Right now she's over looking the kitchen ready to yell should Captain Hook make an appearance.
This is for Aravis, meet Johnny Jump Up extraordinaire. These little guys are growing wild in my yard, I transplanted these to a row of Lobelia's. ¶ 6/14/2005 02:04:00 PM 4 comments
Monday, June 13, 2005
It's Idgie's fault ya know..... I just can't stop now...
To me it's very ironic that I would be considered this piece of Art from this test, I have always loved this picture. Especially the swirls around the stars. hmmmmm- this is kinda fun!!
If you're interested, I've been conducting some tests on myself by the NBS. Test results are below in the previous posts. Thank you again for your support. Of course you have to be in the right frame of mind for this. If you're not, you will get bored very quickly. ttfn ¶ 6/13/2005 10:40:00 PM 4 comments
| Below I'm conducting some mental health experiments for my mental health! what else? You Are Best Described By... |
 The Starry Night by Vincent van Gogh |
To me it's very ironic that I would be considered this piece of Art from this test, I have always loved this picture. Especially the swirls around the stars. hmmmmm- this is kinda fun!!
If you're interested, I've been conducting some tests on myself by the NBS. Test results are below in the previous posts. Thank you again for your support. Of course you have to be in the right frame of mind for this. If you're not, you will get bored very quickly. ttfn ¶ 6/13/2005 10:40:00 PM 4 comments
you know you're from........
Please bear with me as I go through my fun and games phase. This is a small effort to add hilarious insanity to my daily life. Thank you again for your support.
¶ 6/13/2005 09:57:00 PM 0 comments
You Know You're From Portland, OR When... |
Two-thirds of the people you know are from California, yet there is no sun. You can list five reasons why Starbucks is evil. You blame everything that's not right on ex-Californians. You remember the date, severity, time of day, where you were, and how long you were out of power for every winter weather event for the last five years. You know what and when the Columbus Day storm was. Bonus for having been there. You go to a coffee bar and see two guys get into a fight over who makes the best India Pale Ale. You own more than 10 articles of clothing that have microbreweries/brewpubs printed on them. Bonus for embroidered stuff. You can go a whole week without seeing the sun or a person of color.. You have a bookstore, coffee bar, and brewpub all within walking distance of your house. You think downtown is scary 'cause you were panhandled there ... once. When you drive out of town, every other guy in a pickup looks like the governor. When you drive out of town, even the Hondas have gun racks. When the weather gets above 50 degrees you put on your shorts, but you still wear hiking boots and your parka. When the weather gets above 60 you replace your hiking boots with sandals. You think people who use umbrellas are wimps. You can recount more than five anecdotes about why the East Side is a crime-infested jungle ... OR ... You can list more than five reasons why the West Side is a boring, snobby, white-bread suburb. You know what it is in between the East Side and the West Side, and how to pronounce it. You are sitting at a red light surrounded by Subaru Legacy Outbacks. A tree or mudslide has ever damaged your house or car. You live equidistant to a symphony hall, a winery, and a volcano. You actually get these jokes and pass them on to other friends from Portland, OR. |
¶ 6/13/2005 09:57:00 PM 0 comments
Well don't I feel special?
Is it tasteless to post this? I think it's meant to be, it's a quick and dirty IQ test anyway. After doing this I can just feel my head expanding. Thank you, thank you very much for your support. Bartles and James Inc.
I love taking these tests, and though we all know they aren't accurate, I work very hard for my answers. I couldn't bear to read Imbecile in my score. I am also a Pug dog, in "which animal are you?", I'm "Spanish salsa" when it comes to personalities, yeah right!? Me?! Maybe I'm a closet Spanish salsa kind of woman. Hmmm
I want to thank Idgie for giving me the opportunity to take this extraneous test. See there a new word just popped into my head. Extraneous? I don't think that word fits here. It sounded good anyway!
¶ 6/13/2005 06:04:00 PM 3 comments
| Your IQ Is 105 |
 Your Logical Intelligence is Average Your Verbal Intelligence is Genius Your Mathematical Intelligence is Above Average Your General Knowledge is Above Average |
Is it tasteless to post this? I think it's meant to be, it's a quick and dirty IQ test anyway. After doing this I can just feel my head expanding. Thank you, thank you very much for your support. Bartles and James Inc.
I love taking these tests, and though we all know they aren't accurate, I work very hard for my answers. I couldn't bear to read Imbecile in my score. I am also a Pug dog, in "which animal are you?", I'm "Spanish salsa" when it comes to personalities, yeah right!? Me?! Maybe I'm a closet Spanish salsa kind of woman. Hmmm
I want to thank Idgie for giving me the opportunity to take this extraneous test. See there a new word just popped into my head. Extraneous? I don't think that word fits here. It sounded good anyway!
¶ 6/13/2005 06:04:00 PM 3 comments
Michael Jackson has been acquitted
I am very happy for Michael Jackson, I have always been a big fan of his and his immense talent . Though you won't find me moonwalking or singing his latest songs, I have always loved watching him. To me he has always been the epitome of innocence. You might think me naive but I wouldn't be alone in my feelings. I am generally very suspect of men, especially if there are any accusations made against them regarding child sexual abuse. But I can tell you, honestly, that I have never seen or heard anything that convinced me that Michael Jackson was guilty of the charges against him. If he is guilty of anything I think it's not wanting to grow up and take responsibility for his life. He has always had people watching out for him, he has always trusted everyone to take care of the details. I think he did alot of growing up during this trial, learned to see himself the way others do, and also learned not to be so trusting.
¶ 6/13/2005 02:52:00 PM 0 comments
¶ 6/13/2005 02:52:00 PM 0 comments
I'm really irked! and Seeing Red
I'm moving happily along here doing what it is I do. Two service men show up, the water department. They set about turning off my water. I yell out the window, (I'm not dressed yet, or I would have been in their face) that I paid my bill. They make a little call on their cute little cell phone, that I'm sure my late fees have paid for. Still my water is off and they drive off in their new gas guzzling truck. So about an hour later they come back and turn my water on.
I still have a door hanger that tells me my water is turned off due to non-payment. So I call the water department and ask what is going on with my water. She states emphatically that they will be here soon to turn my water back on. I tell her they already have. But I inquire as to their reasons for the turn off. She tells me she's sorry, she made a mistake.
Oh, I see, so what do I owe you then. Oh there is a late fee of 30 dollars she tells me. So I inquire as to when my payment was received. She states the 31st upon looking at her records but it wasn't posted until the 6th. So I ask, then perhaps you could waive that late fee as I was late by one day. She states, no I can't do that. So I blast into her.
Sorry I can't help it. It's the same story regarding any official office of government. They don't grant grace, yet you are continually supposed to forgive them their ineptness.
She says she doesn't have to take that from me. Then as a good public service person does, she hangs up on me. I did not swear, I didn't say anything rash, I just accused her of being inept. What else do you call it when an official office takes it into their hands to turn your water off when an employee makes a mistake?
I am really quick to forgive, but that doesn't mean I have to take this kind of stuff like a door mat. Does it? Imagine all the scenerios that could have been going on during that hour that require water when I was without.
¶ 6/13/2005 10:34:00 AM 3 comments
I still have a door hanger that tells me my water is turned off due to non-payment. So I call the water department and ask what is going on with my water. She states emphatically that they will be here soon to turn my water back on. I tell her they already have. But I inquire as to their reasons for the turn off. She tells me she's sorry, she made a mistake.
Oh, I see, so what do I owe you then. Oh there is a late fee of 30 dollars she tells me. So I inquire as to when my payment was received. She states the 31st upon looking at her records but it wasn't posted until the 6th. So I ask, then perhaps you could waive that late fee as I was late by one day. She states, no I can't do that. So I blast into her.
Sorry I can't help it. It's the same story regarding any official office of government. They don't grant grace, yet you are continually supposed to forgive them their ineptness.
She says she doesn't have to take that from me. Then as a good public service person does, she hangs up on me. I did not swear, I didn't say anything rash, I just accused her of being inept. What else do you call it when an official office takes it into their hands to turn your water off when an employee makes a mistake?
I am really quick to forgive, but that doesn't mean I have to take this kind of stuff like a door mat. Does it? Imagine all the scenerios that could have been going on during that hour that require water when I was without.
¶ 6/13/2005 10:34:00 AM 3 comments
Sunday, June 12, 2005
Oregon Snail
Isn't he cute? EWWWW! I'm sorry I don't like slugs or snails but they are very interesting to look at, don't you think? Enjoy. My daughter took this.
¶ 6/12/2005 09:37:00 PM 1 comments
¶ 6/12/2005 09:37:00 PM 1 comments
Saturday, June 11, 2005
Friday, June 10, 2005
Boxes of History
I've been going through the many boxes I have recently taken out of storage, and I have alot of crap! There is so much stuff that it's hard for me to determine what goes and what stays. I'm one of those people who save newspaper clippings. I save whole newspapers if the story is relevant to US history. I have every clipping that shows one of my kids or their friends, or teachers, etc....I also have a few boxes of family history in letters. Now mind you my kids aren't interested it this right now, but I really think they will want to know some family history as they start having children of their own. We, meaning citizens as a whole, have been fortunate that the pioneers wrote letters and kept journals. They are a gift and a link to our past. Reading up on the past and the struggles the pioneers endured has always encouraged me and given me hope.
I have letters that my grandmother wrote to my mom, aunts, uncles. I have photo graphs that my grandfather on my dads side took while he was in WWI. Pictures he took all over Europe. I have been the keeper of the history for my family. For some reason I was entrusted at a young age with valuable family pictures, books, newspaper articles, even columns from Dear Abbey for God's sake. I think when the time comes, many, many years from now*, I will pass this all on to Jessie as she is the one who screams the loudest when I swear I'm getting rid of everything. Again I swear that if you could see the stuff you'd be swearing too. Thankfully I have trunks that neatly hide this stuff away. Maya Angelou said: "....No man can know where he is going unless he knows exactly where he has been and exactly how he arrived at his present place". She was referring to Africa here, but I think it pertains to everyone's heritage.
*Little footnote here, I did one of those many cute little tests they have online, you know, "what kind of dog are you? What's your IQ", that sort of thing, and well I'm going to live to be at least 83!
¶ 6/10/2005 05:39:00 PM 1 comments
I have letters that my grandmother wrote to my mom, aunts, uncles. I have photo graphs that my grandfather on my dads side took while he was in WWI. Pictures he took all over Europe. I have been the keeper of the history for my family. For some reason I was entrusted at a young age with valuable family pictures, books, newspaper articles, even columns from Dear Abbey for God's sake. I think when the time comes, many, many years from now*, I will pass this all on to Jessie as she is the one who screams the loudest when I swear I'm getting rid of everything. Again I swear that if you could see the stuff you'd be swearing too. Thankfully I have trunks that neatly hide this stuff away. Maya Angelou said: "....No man can know where he is going unless he knows exactly where he has been and exactly how he arrived at his present place". She was referring to Africa here, but I think it pertains to everyone's heritage.
*Little footnote here, I did one of those many cute little tests they have online, you know, "what kind of dog are you? What's your IQ", that sort of thing, and well I'm going to live to be at least 83!
¶ 6/10/2005 05:39:00 PM 1 comments
Wednesday, June 08, 2005
flowering frenzy
I really love this picture. I might have written about this on another post but the picture is something I don't mind looking at over and over again. Though our yard at the time was very small, every inch was growing flowers. I wanted to bring my idea of a wild English Garden to life. I loved having the Zinnia's blooming in all the many colors. The Morning Glory's I let loose to go and do what they wanted. We put in a arbor made of skinny tree trunks, alder I think they were. The Morning Glory's loved it. I planted Lavender, English Daisy's, huge Sunflowers, I think they grew to 8' or more. There were Forget-Me-Not's in with the bright orange Marigolds, the list goes on and on.
The flag we put up on September 11th, 2001 and it always flew. We put the little fence up too. When we moved there, people were parking their snowmobiles right under the window of the living room. I needed my space so up went the fence. I wanted to paint it purple, but the landlord said no. We settled on a light, very light lavender. I ask you what could be more natural and more beautiful than a pansy purple fence? The color combination is absolutely beautiful. Our cabin, house was across the street from beautiful Rose Lake. I loved seeing the glistening water each day, or watching the lake freeze. I even drove out on it one time, until I found out that the Lake was about 119 feet deep in that spot. I thought I should drive with the doors open to catch me should I fall in the ice. Scary!!!.
The landlords had a dock out for all their tenants. It used to be vacation cabins but they turned nicely into small rentals. Our rent was cheap, real cheap. We lived there 3 years. I used to waitress at a restaurant that was about 500 yards down the road. It was called Spanky's. Great name huh? It was a huge log cabin that was built in the 1920's with two fireplaces. I worked there for 3 years. The girls would come out from Oregon, Leah and Jessie and Emily would all come out at different times and all took turns living with us. Anna just came for visits. But we had a lot of fun there.
I had great neighbors too. When we moved away and drove by occasionally we noticed that they let all the flowers die. They let them dry up turn gray and fall to the ground. The bachelor buttons would have none of that. They kept coming back year after year.
I think I have too late a start to bring this yard to life like that. It's just as small but things are different now. The yard is lined with big black pots carrying the plants we took with us from Minnesota, not from Rose Lake, but from our "adventure" on the Ottertail River. When I dig down in this soil I come to clay and rock, not very conducive to plant growth.
I think I'm off to bed a bit earlier tonight. I'm reading The DaVinci Code, I want to see what everybody's talking about. Knights Templar? Secret Code? Leonardo DaVinci? Should be interesting. ¶ 6/08/2005 09:07:00 PM 2 comments
I really love this picture. I might have written about this on another post but the picture is something I don't mind looking at over and over again. Though our yard at the time was very small, every inch was growing flowers. I wanted to bring my idea of a wild English Garden to life. I loved having the Zinnia's blooming in all the many colors. The Morning Glory's I let loose to go and do what they wanted. We put in a arbor made of skinny tree trunks, alder I think they were. The Morning Glory's loved it. I planted Lavender, English Daisy's, huge Sunflowers, I think they grew to 8' or more. There were Forget-Me-Not's in with the bright orange Marigolds, the list goes on and on.
The flag we put up on September 11th, 2001 and it always flew. We put the little fence up too. When we moved there, people were parking their snowmobiles right under the window of the living room. I needed my space so up went the fence. I wanted to paint it purple, but the landlord said no. We settled on a light, very light lavender. I ask you what could be more natural and more beautiful than a pansy purple fence? The color combination is absolutely beautiful. Our cabin, house was across the street from beautiful Rose Lake. I loved seeing the glistening water each day, or watching the lake freeze. I even drove out on it one time, until I found out that the Lake was about 119 feet deep in that spot. I thought I should drive with the doors open to catch me should I fall in the ice. Scary!!!.
The landlords had a dock out for all their tenants. It used to be vacation cabins but they turned nicely into small rentals. Our rent was cheap, real cheap. We lived there 3 years. I used to waitress at a restaurant that was about 500 yards down the road. It was called Spanky's. Great name huh? It was a huge log cabin that was built in the 1920's with two fireplaces. I worked there for 3 years. The girls would come out from Oregon, Leah and Jessie and Emily would all come out at different times and all took turns living with us. Anna just came for visits. But we had a lot of fun there.
I had great neighbors too. When we moved away and drove by occasionally we noticed that they let all the flowers die. They let them dry up turn gray and fall to the ground. The bachelor buttons would have none of that. They kept coming back year after year.
I think I have too late a start to bring this yard to life like that. It's just as small but things are different now. The yard is lined with big black pots carrying the plants we took with us from Minnesota, not from Rose Lake, but from our "adventure" on the Ottertail River. When I dig down in this soil I come to clay and rock, not very conducive to plant growth.
I think I'm off to bed a bit earlier tonight. I'm reading The DaVinci Code, I want to see what everybody's talking about. Knights Templar? Secret Code? Leonardo DaVinci? Should be interesting. ¶ 6/08/2005 09:07:00 PM 2 comments
Pansy's
To me, this is eye candy. The sun came out this morning, and damn if I wasn't singing,"the sun will come up-- tomorrow, bet your bottom dollar that....blah blah blah....." I'm trying to nip it in the bud. The pun is intended. These are some of my favorite flowers, I also love viola's. They're a smaller rendition of pansys. I call them Johny Jump Ups. Anybody else call them that?
¶ 6/08/2005 03:12:00 PM 2 comments
¶ 6/08/2005 03:12:00 PM 2 comments
Tuesday, June 07, 2005
Fingers on the keyboard
Ramblin' Rose,
Ramblin' Man,
Ramblin' Pam,
yup, I'm ramblin' away. It's nearly midnight and all is quiet. I should be sleeping but I'm not. (So far sounds like a country song).
She makes me feel like a guitar strummin'. Maybe the song is Cracklin Rosie? Oh well. Don't ya just hate it when you're singing along and you've got all the words wrong? Do you ever catch yourself trying to cover your mistakes even when no one else is around? Now that Ramblin' Man I believe is the correct title, who did that? Was that the Winter Brother's? Does anyone remember Leon Russell? My friend in Minnesota who is my age does not have the foggiest idea who that is. Was he only popular in the 70's in California? I was a real big fan of the Doobie Brothers in high school. I also loved Jethro Tull. I think it was the beat of the drums, and how it filled me up with it's pounding and I became the music itself. I can hear it loud and clear as I sit here.
I went to a concert once with my brother and the man who was to be my husband and the father of my kids. It was outdoors in what I think was the San Diego Stadium, Chargers? Was their baseball team the Padres? Geeze some details elude me. The Eagles were playing, Linda Rondstadt, Jackson Brown, the son was hot and there were people everywhere. A heavy blanket of marijuana smoke hung over the crowd as the smell of stale beer seemed to be at my level. It was my first concert. The second one I went to, was at University of California San Diego. Boz Scaggs was playing. I really enjoyed him too. I love the song Harbor Lights, and many more that I can't recall right now. I was also very heavy into Neil Young, Man needs a maid. The needle and the damage done. Down by the river, long version. Words. What album is that? The music is all crystal clear in my head but the words are not. When I listened to music back then, the words were the most important to me.
Now where is that country song I'm writing here? I should be in bed but I'm not....
When I was in high school, I should say when I would go to school, my favorite class was English Literature. We had this great book about poetry. I think it still sits on my book shelf. Quite worn, loose pages. But I learned about T.S. Eliot there, The Love song of J. Alfred Prufrock, "...With insidious intent." A lot of great words in that one. That is one that I had to memorize. At the time I didn't understand a word I was muttering in front of the class. Anyway, I loved it when we had to read the poems and talk about what they were trying to convey. I didn't really care for Emily Dickinson then, but I have become very fond of her writings as I get older. This line from one of her poem's is one of my favorites: "There is no Frigate like a book to take us lands away, nor any coursers like a page of prancing poetry." I liked reading Anne Sexton because she seemed so rebellious in the poetry world. The things she wrote about, people just never openly talked about. Though they were going on everywhere around us, you just didn't speak about it. Incest, drug abuse, and suicide. These kinds of words were commonly used or performed when drunk or in a state of "drug abuse."
I've taken my time writing this and I think I might have spilled a few little beads or something in my keyboard as I keep missing letters and have to go back and fix it. Could be I'm finally ready for bed. Not bad it's almost 1:00 am. The sky is just starting to look like dusk now in Alaska.
good night sleep tight
¶ 6/07/2005 11:47:00 PM 2 comments
Ramblin' Man,
Ramblin' Pam,
yup, I'm ramblin' away. It's nearly midnight and all is quiet. I should be sleeping but I'm not. (So far sounds like a country song).
She makes me feel like a guitar strummin'. Maybe the song is Cracklin Rosie? Oh well. Don't ya just hate it when you're singing along and you've got all the words wrong? Do you ever catch yourself trying to cover your mistakes even when no one else is around? Now that Ramblin' Man I believe is the correct title, who did that? Was that the Winter Brother's? Does anyone remember Leon Russell? My friend in Minnesota who is my age does not have the foggiest idea who that is. Was he only popular in the 70's in California? I was a real big fan of the Doobie Brothers in high school. I also loved Jethro Tull. I think it was the beat of the drums, and how it filled me up with it's pounding and I became the music itself. I can hear it loud and clear as I sit here.
I went to a concert once with my brother and the man who was to be my husband and the father of my kids. It was outdoors in what I think was the San Diego Stadium, Chargers? Was their baseball team the Padres? Geeze some details elude me. The Eagles were playing, Linda Rondstadt, Jackson Brown, the son was hot and there were people everywhere. A heavy blanket of marijuana smoke hung over the crowd as the smell of stale beer seemed to be at my level. It was my first concert. The second one I went to, was at University of California San Diego. Boz Scaggs was playing. I really enjoyed him too. I love the song Harbor Lights, and many more that I can't recall right now. I was also very heavy into Neil Young, Man needs a maid. The needle and the damage done. Down by the river, long version. Words. What album is that? The music is all crystal clear in my head but the words are not. When I listened to music back then, the words were the most important to me.
Now where is that country song I'm writing here? I should be in bed but I'm not....
When I was in high school, I should say when I would go to school, my favorite class was English Literature. We had this great book about poetry. I think it still sits on my book shelf. Quite worn, loose pages. But I learned about T.S. Eliot there, The Love song of J. Alfred Prufrock, "...With insidious intent." A lot of great words in that one. That is one that I had to memorize. At the time I didn't understand a word I was muttering in front of the class. Anyway, I loved it when we had to read the poems and talk about what they were trying to convey. I didn't really care for Emily Dickinson then, but I have become very fond of her writings as I get older. This line from one of her poem's is one of my favorites: "There is no Frigate like a book to take us lands away, nor any coursers like a page of prancing poetry." I liked reading Anne Sexton because she seemed so rebellious in the poetry world. The things she wrote about, people just never openly talked about. Though they were going on everywhere around us, you just didn't speak about it. Incest, drug abuse, and suicide. These kinds of words were commonly used or performed when drunk or in a state of "drug abuse."
I've taken my time writing this and I think I might have spilled a few little beads or something in my keyboard as I keep missing letters and have to go back and fix it. Could be I'm finally ready for bed. Not bad it's almost 1:00 am. The sky is just starting to look like dusk now in Alaska.
good night sleep tight
¶ 6/07/2005 11:47:00 PM 2 comments
Monday, June 06, 2005
Enough already....
I'm sitting at my computer, which by the way I've had to move all my stuff again to find the keyboard, you see I'm a very dedicated writer with nothing to write about. I could tell you that the rain is coming down in torrents, the thunder is booming somewhere over the ocean and I can hear the faint bell sound of the beacon off the shore.
I could tell you what, I don't know, I've drawn a blank.
As I sit here I look around I've got the picture of my mother reading to my girls the National Geographic. My girls when they were small at a Christmas program. A picture that has my mother, my sister, me and five little blonde girls at the beach way back in 1991 when we had a crab feed right there on the sand. Have you ever done that? There's a dock in the south end of Lincoln City where you can throw your crab pots out at mid to high tide. In the meantime you've gathered plenty of seawater in the largest canner you can find, and put it on to boil on the fire you've lit with all that driftwood that piles up on the beach. You've got your real butter melting off to the side just waiting for dinner.
I'm here thinking about my cruelty to animal post and I'm about to describe throwing live crabs into boiling water! Eck!! Okay, I'll by pass that but I have to tell you there is nothing like it. The first time I had halibut it was the same way. Ocean caught right at the beach and cooked over the same kind of fire in one of those camping skillets. Wonderful, wonderful.
I love learning about how the first settlers survived in this harsh climate. They call it temperate but if you have no electricity and no plumbing facilities it would be harsh. Reading about Lewis and Clarke and how they survived their first winter on the Oregon coast brings the harsh reality to light. Apparently in their Fort, Fort Clatsop, they remained wet for three months. There was no way to get dry. Even their big fireplace was unable to dry their soaked clothes and the moisture and dampness permeated everything. Just a little FYI.
June is always a gray and drizzly month here. You can almost count on it. I just got a nice sunburn hoping for a tan, I even used spf 30. I thought the next couple of days I'll do what I've been doing outside and maybe get a little color. Then maybe all my freckles with meet and I'll be really dark. So I'm sitting here with this sunburn and the rain in torrents remembering this is how it usually goes. It's like washing your car and then it rains, or the neighborhood cats find your clean car and call it home!
I was just on Aravis' site and she asked the question "where would you go if there were no limits?" Well I immediately answered everywhere! That's where I'd go. I'd love to see the Pyramids, go to Crete, see the Coliseum. I'd love to see the Fjords of Norway, and the fields of Italy. I'd love to go to all those huge museums and spend days with no one breathing down my back to hurry along. I'd love to see the Grand Canyon (Hi!) and ride the mules to the bottom. I'd like to see New England and especially Nantucket that was known as Sperm City, well actually it wasn't known as that, but I've drawn another blank. I know that is where the majority of the Whale hunts started off from that introduced America to a cleaner fuel. I'm just relating facts here I'm not judging anything. Nantucket has a fascinating history. It was probably the only place in America in the early 1800's that allowed women the freedom they had on that Island. Please correct me if I'm wrong because that will mean that I can learn something else.
I can tell you how when I was little I wrote alot of poetry, and I have continued writing to the present. I recently came across some of my poetry from high school and I was so embarrassed for myself. It was dreadful. I had been proud of it at one time. Also in my early 30's I had worked very hard on a children's book. I revised it so many times I think I forgot what it was about. I think the publishers were confused too because I received numerous rejections.
I could tell you how I enjoy spending time with my girls and that we can have so much fun together. We can laugh alot and have serious talks, but we can also be very irritating to one another.
I could tell you how in one month two of my daughters have been in two separate car accidents. They are both doing well, they have some muscle damage going on for which they are getting some PT. They are also dealing with insurance companies. They were both not at fault and at least the insurance companies agree on that. Emily was plowed into by a huge suv while she slowed for a dog on the hiway. Jessie was just starting to go on green when another large suv slammed into her side, the woman was speeding to get someone else off her tail. Jessie had just bought the car and put a brand new radiator in it the day before. I cannot tell you the emotions that went through my body or my reactions to the dreaded phone call, "There's been an accident...." I choose not to go into anything emotional about this. Just relaying the facts ma'am.
Now all four of my daughters have been in car accidents that have totaled their cars. When Anna was 16 and having just purchased her own car, some kid from the highschool without a license and the car owner with no insurance hit Anna head on as she was leaving the school grounds. She still suffers many neck and back problems because of it. Leah was involved in a rear end collision which was her fault. She was traveling in our tourist traffic and looked away for just a sec, that was all it took. She was so proud of that car. Now I hope it goes without saying that everyone knows how grateful I am that there were no serious injuries, that is why I can't really write about it. I won't allow my mind to go into what if's over this.
See now I will move unto something else. My brother's birthday was May 23rd. I do not know how old he is or what year he was born. I think I blocked all that stuff when I told him I could not see him anymore. The same with my sister. I can not see her anymore either, I think I would like too, but I'm not sure how it would go. So I don't allow myself to think about that either. I don't know where either of them are or even if they are alive. I will move onto something else now.
Okay lets see. There is property for sale all around our little cabin here. There are two lots across the street from us that are very tiny and homes would be almost right on top of each other should they be built. They sold the lot behind our house, it's zoned commercial, I have no idea what is going in there. The people to the west of us have decided to build their dream home now. Why after owning it for over 30 years huh? Up until now it's just been a lot with overgrown blackberries and brush. Untrimmed trees, no lights and no noise.
I think pretty soon it will feel like what I imagine Grand Central Station to feel like. I might even like to go there. I don't know.
Once again, I'm down the road kickin' rocks... ¶ 6/06/2005 09:38:00 PM 3 comments
I could tell you what, I don't know, I've drawn a blank.
As I sit here I look around I've got the picture of my mother reading to my girls the National Geographic. My girls when they were small at a Christmas program. A picture that has my mother, my sister, me and five little blonde girls at the beach way back in 1991 when we had a crab feed right there on the sand. Have you ever done that? There's a dock in the south end of Lincoln City where you can throw your crab pots out at mid to high tide. In the meantime you've gathered plenty of seawater in the largest canner you can find, and put it on to boil on the fire you've lit with all that driftwood that piles up on the beach. You've got your real butter melting off to the side just waiting for dinner.
I'm here thinking about my cruelty to animal post and I'm about to describe throwing live crabs into boiling water! Eck!! Okay, I'll by pass that but I have to tell you there is nothing like it. The first time I had halibut it was the same way. Ocean caught right at the beach and cooked over the same kind of fire in one of those camping skillets. Wonderful, wonderful.
I love learning about how the first settlers survived in this harsh climate. They call it temperate but if you have no electricity and no plumbing facilities it would be harsh. Reading about Lewis and Clarke and how they survived their first winter on the Oregon coast brings the harsh reality to light. Apparently in their Fort, Fort Clatsop, they remained wet for three months. There was no way to get dry. Even their big fireplace was unable to dry their soaked clothes and the moisture and dampness permeated everything. Just a little FYI.
June is always a gray and drizzly month here. You can almost count on it. I just got a nice sunburn hoping for a tan, I even used spf 30. I thought the next couple of days I'll do what I've been doing outside and maybe get a little color. Then maybe all my freckles with meet and I'll be really dark. So I'm sitting here with this sunburn and the rain in torrents remembering this is how it usually goes. It's like washing your car and then it rains, or the neighborhood cats find your clean car and call it home!
I was just on Aravis' site and she asked the question "where would you go if there were no limits?" Well I immediately answered everywhere! That's where I'd go. I'd love to see the Pyramids, go to Crete, see the Coliseum. I'd love to see the Fjords of Norway, and the fields of Italy. I'd love to go to all those huge museums and spend days with no one breathing down my back to hurry along. I'd love to see the Grand Canyon (Hi!) and ride the mules to the bottom. I'd like to see New England and especially Nantucket that was known as Sperm City, well actually it wasn't known as that, but I've drawn another blank. I know that is where the majority of the Whale hunts started off from that introduced America to a cleaner fuel. I'm just relating facts here I'm not judging anything. Nantucket has a fascinating history. It was probably the only place in America in the early 1800's that allowed women the freedom they had on that Island. Please correct me if I'm wrong because that will mean that I can learn something else.
I can tell you how when I was little I wrote alot of poetry, and I have continued writing to the present. I recently came across some of my poetry from high school and I was so embarrassed for myself. It was dreadful. I had been proud of it at one time. Also in my early 30's I had worked very hard on a children's book. I revised it so many times I think I forgot what it was about. I think the publishers were confused too because I received numerous rejections.
I could tell you how I enjoy spending time with my girls and that we can have so much fun together. We can laugh alot and have serious talks, but we can also be very irritating to one another.
I could tell you how in one month two of my daughters have been in two separate car accidents. They are both doing well, they have some muscle damage going on for which they are getting some PT. They are also dealing with insurance companies. They were both not at fault and at least the insurance companies agree on that. Emily was plowed into by a huge suv while she slowed for a dog on the hiway. Jessie was just starting to go on green when another large suv slammed into her side, the woman was speeding to get someone else off her tail. Jessie had just bought the car and put a brand new radiator in it the day before. I cannot tell you the emotions that went through my body or my reactions to the dreaded phone call, "There's been an accident...." I choose not to go into anything emotional about this. Just relaying the facts ma'am.
Now all four of my daughters have been in car accidents that have totaled their cars. When Anna was 16 and having just purchased her own car, some kid from the highschool without a license and the car owner with no insurance hit Anna head on as she was leaving the school grounds. She still suffers many neck and back problems because of it. Leah was involved in a rear end collision which was her fault. She was traveling in our tourist traffic and looked away for just a sec, that was all it took. She was so proud of that car. Now I hope it goes without saying that everyone knows how grateful I am that there were no serious injuries, that is why I can't really write about it. I won't allow my mind to go into what if's over this.
See now I will move unto something else. My brother's birthday was May 23rd. I do not know how old he is or what year he was born. I think I blocked all that stuff when I told him I could not see him anymore. The same with my sister. I can not see her anymore either, I think I would like too, but I'm not sure how it would go. So I don't allow myself to think about that either. I don't know where either of them are or even if they are alive. I will move onto something else now.
Okay lets see. There is property for sale all around our little cabin here. There are two lots across the street from us that are very tiny and homes would be almost right on top of each other should they be built. They sold the lot behind our house, it's zoned commercial, I have no idea what is going in there. The people to the west of us have decided to build their dream home now. Why after owning it for over 30 years huh? Up until now it's just been a lot with overgrown blackberries and brush. Untrimmed trees, no lights and no noise.
I think pretty soon it will feel like what I imagine Grand Central Station to feel like. I might even like to go there. I don't know.
Once again, I'm down the road kickin' rocks... ¶ 6/06/2005 09:38:00 PM 3 comments
Sunday, June 05, 2005
I guess I asked for it:
Down below are some of the responses I received from people that I sent an email to that contains the letter below from an earlier post. This letter I copied from the website for the prevention of animal cruelty.
The reason this is a concern to me is because we had to find a home for my daughter Jessie's Rottweiler, she has been working far too many hours and leaving Kane alone. He is a very social animal and needed to be where there was someone around. Also trying to rent a place with a Rottweiler is near impossible, because I'm home alot I chose to find a home for him. This was very hard to do because Kane was a member of our family. I wanted to make sure he went to a loving home. So I posted an ad on Craigs list with pictures and my requirements for his new home. I had lots of responses, some were emails informing me of the strong possibility that people might want Kane for dog fighting because he is a Rottweiler. This horrified me to no end. But I was also very grateful that someone took the time to let me know something that I was very naive about.
Like I said I had many responses, but when I emailed back asking if they would let me come to their home and meet them, and see how Kane interacted with them, I never got a response back. One person emailed about a week after I had given up asking if Kane was still available. They were very nice, we went to meet them at their home outside of Portland. Kane loved them right away. He was running and playing, they were firm and gentle. The man was retired and wanted a dog for a companion. We were very fortunate that Kane found such a home, and that these two people really wanted him. I was not aware that many people get these "free to good home" animals and sell them to labs for testing, etc.....So please forgive me if I feel a little shocked and saddened by some peoples responses, I didn't expect the negative.....I am still naive. I have deleted their full names and email addresses for obvious reasons.
From: "Rebecca C"......
Subject: RE: craigs list ad
Date: Sun, 05 Jun 2005 20:37:59 -0700
You crazy bitch, what kind of person does those kinds of things to an inocent animal. A psycho. I am just merly trying to make some person happy with a "FREE" pet. She has all of her shots and is spayed. Which cost me money for the vet bills. I just want her to go to a good home. Just in case you are as dumb as you sound "GOOD" means you DON'T HURT THE CAT.....
If I find anyone or if you have done any of those crule things to any animal, I will do much worse thing to them..."SMILE"
BTW she was found by me starving on the street, so weak that she couldn't even stand. I fed her, gave her a home, took her to the vet and I have tried my best to take care of her. Unfortunately because she does not like my cats, which I adopted 2 from the humane society and the 3rd was found at 10 weeks old in a dumpster, I should find her a new home that can take care of her better then I can. They are all neutered as well.
I KNOW how to screen, contract and follow up on her. I just want to find her a home where they can provide her with a more comfortable life. She is not happy with my other cats. And she has problems with her back legs/hips. Because of her age and the fact that she has only a few teeth and she has trouble with her legs/hips she would be put down at the animal shelters. I am able to take care of my own and I don't need my time wasted by some "high and mighty, I'm better then you" person.
So, if you are worried about BYBs then do what I do and help report them to the humane society, don't support them, encourage friends and families to adopt rather the purchase a pet and just try to help the animals. Don't spend your time harrassing people.
Fuck you for wasting my time!
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Shawnamarie
Date: Sat, 4 Jun 2005 23:08:59 EDT
Subject: Re: your craigs list ad
Thank you for the time to send this on to me Pamela, I work with rescues and fosters for both cats and dogs and will try to use some of my resources to find a place for this girl before she actually needs to be rehomed yet again. Shawna
~~~~~~~~~~~~
"What ever" pixie
Subject: Re: craigs list ad
Pamela,
Although I understand your trying to do a good deed, you have assumed quite a bit about my care for animals. I have been rescuing cats for 15 years and ALL have been spayed or nuetered. Taking an animal to the an animal shelter is against my better judgement especially if it's an adopt or be killed in 3 days (such as the SPCA.) Yes, there are no kill shelters however you show me one that is receiving cats at this moment and I'll be right there with this cat. I took this cat in as a favor to a friend and I can longer keep the cat because I already have two of my own and I will be evicted if I don't find a home for this cat quick. And by the way this cat is spayed. So with all your preaching do you know of a no kill shelter any where near the northern part of Oregon who is not themselves about to go under because they don't have the means to resources to keep them going? Enlighten me please!
P.S. I have done catch and release of feral cats (catch to spay or nueter & then re-release) at my own expense for more than 20 some odd years.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"you know.....
Subject: Re: craigs list ad
Yes I've read this before and I do visit the homes for
up to a year after I let someone have one of my pets.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"sneezy.....
Subject: RE: craigs list ad
Date: Sat, 04 Jun 2005 11:37:21 -0700
Please don't e-mail me again--how I choose to get rid of my animal is
none
of your business.
What do you think? Did I do a bad thing by sending this email to those offering free pets?
All I wanted to do was to perhaps save one animal from going into the wrong hands. That's all. ¶ 6/05/2005 11:17:00 PM 2 comments
The reason this is a concern to me is because we had to find a home for my daughter Jessie's Rottweiler, she has been working far too many hours and leaving Kane alone. He is a very social animal and needed to be where there was someone around. Also trying to rent a place with a Rottweiler is near impossible, because I'm home alot I chose to find a home for him. This was very hard to do because Kane was a member of our family. I wanted to make sure he went to a loving home. So I posted an ad on Craigs list with pictures and my requirements for his new home. I had lots of responses, some were emails informing me of the strong possibility that people might want Kane for dog fighting because he is a Rottweiler. This horrified me to no end. But I was also very grateful that someone took the time to let me know something that I was very naive about.
Like I said I had many responses, but when I emailed back asking if they would let me come to their home and meet them, and see how Kane interacted with them, I never got a response back. One person emailed about a week after I had given up asking if Kane was still available. They were very nice, we went to meet them at their home outside of Portland. Kane loved them right away. He was running and playing, they were firm and gentle. The man was retired and wanted a dog for a companion. We were very fortunate that Kane found such a home, and that these two people really wanted him. I was not aware that many people get these "free to good home" animals and sell them to labs for testing, etc.....So please forgive me if I feel a little shocked and saddened by some peoples responses, I didn't expect the negative.....I am still naive. I have deleted their full names and email addresses for obvious reasons.
From: "Rebecca C"......
Subject: RE: craigs list ad
Date: Sun, 05 Jun 2005 20:37:59 -0700
You crazy bitch, what kind of person does those kinds of things to an inocent animal. A psycho. I am just merly trying to make some person happy with a "FREE" pet. She has all of her shots and is spayed. Which cost me money for the vet bills. I just want her to go to a good home. Just in case you are as dumb as you sound "GOOD" means you DON'T HURT THE CAT.....
If I find anyone or if you have done any of those crule things to any animal, I will do much worse thing to them..."SMILE"
BTW she was found by me starving on the street, so weak that she couldn't even stand. I fed her, gave her a home, took her to the vet and I have tried my best to take care of her. Unfortunately because she does not like my cats, which I adopted 2 from the humane society and the 3rd was found at 10 weeks old in a dumpster, I should find her a new home that can take care of her better then I can. They are all neutered as well.
I KNOW how to screen, contract and follow up on her. I just want to find her a home where they can provide her with a more comfortable life. She is not happy with my other cats. And she has problems with her back legs/hips. Because of her age and the fact that she has only a few teeth and she has trouble with her legs/hips she would be put down at the animal shelters. I am able to take care of my own and I don't need my time wasted by some "high and mighty, I'm better then you" person.
So, if you are worried about BYBs then do what I do and help report them to the humane society, don't support them, encourage friends and families to adopt rather the purchase a pet and just try to help the animals. Don't spend your time harrassing people.
Fuck you for wasting my time!
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Shawnamarie
Date: Sat, 4 Jun 2005 23:08:59 EDT
Subject: Re: your craigs list ad
Thank you for the time to send this on to me Pamela, I work with rescues and fosters for both cats and dogs and will try to use some of my resources to find a place for this girl before she actually needs to be rehomed yet again. Shawna
~~~~~~~~~~~~
"What ever" pixie
Subject: Re: craigs list ad
Pamela,
Although I understand your trying to do a good deed, you have assumed quite a bit about my care for animals. I have been rescuing cats for 15 years and ALL have been spayed or nuetered. Taking an animal to the an animal shelter is against my better judgement especially if it's an adopt or be killed in 3 days (such as the SPCA.) Yes, there are no kill shelters however you show me one that is receiving cats at this moment and I'll be right there with this cat. I took this cat in as a favor to a friend and I can longer keep the cat because I already have two of my own and I will be evicted if I don't find a home for this cat quick. And by the way this cat is spayed. So with all your preaching do you know of a no kill shelter any where near the northern part of Oregon who is not themselves about to go under because they don't have the means to resources to keep them going? Enlighten me please!
P.S. I have done catch and release of feral cats (catch to spay or nueter & then re-release) at my own expense for more than 20 some odd years.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"you know.....
Subject: Re: craigs list ad
Yes I've read this before and I do visit the homes for
up to a year after I let someone have one of my pets.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"sneezy.....
Subject: RE: craigs list ad
Date: Sat, 04 Jun 2005 11:37:21 -0700
Please don't e-mail me again--how I choose to get rid of my animal is
none
of your business.
What do you think? Did I do a bad thing by sending this email to those offering free pets?
All I wanted to do was to perhaps save one animal from going into the wrong hands. That's all. ¶ 6/05/2005 11:17:00 PM 2 comments
Saturday, June 04, 2005
Free To Good Homes
I hope I don't get in trouble for posting this, but I found this on a site that dealt with cruelty to animals, click the title to go there for yourselves~I was recently on craigs list and saw many free to good home ads, so I did what I thought was the only thing I could do, I emailed them this post. So far I have gotten one reply, "please don't email me again, how I choose to get rid of my animal is none of your business." Notice the get rid of part. Exactly! I know it's none of my business but what can they do? Take my birthday? Oh well, my doing this is such a small thing, but so many people are uninformed. I'm sure I'm one too.
"Free to Good Homes" Ads
When people can no longer care for a pet, or if their
pets have had babies that they cannot care for, many
people opt to place an ad in a newspaper or website
advertising the unwanted animals as "free to a good
home". While intentions are usually good in these
situations, we strongly advise against this approach.
"Free" is all too often seen as "worthless" in the eye
of the beholder.
Pets obtained for free are are less likely to be
spayed or neutered by their new owners (why bother
with vet bills?), and more likely to be abused and/or
discarded, because "there are plenty more where that
came from!"
A recent study at one animal shelter yielded the
startling statistic that 41% of all owner-surrendered
dogs had been obtained "Free to good home."
This is how some people see your "free" loved one:
# Free snake food.
# Free animal for malicious pranks.
# Free animal to set on fire or insert a firecracker
into.
# Free to breed indiscriminately.
# Free animal to hoard and neglect.
What Is A "Buncher?"
A buncher either steals or "adopts" companion animals
for the purpose of selling the animal. Bunchers can
sell animals for one or more of the following reasons:
# To be used in research labs
# To be used as bait to train dogs in fighting rings
or hunting dogs
# To be used as breeding stock in puppy mills or
catteries
"Bunchers" can be very deceptive and they prey on
people who place "free to good home" ads. They will
sometimes use children as part of the ploy and present
themselves as a "perfect" family. If something sounds
too good to be true, it probably is!
What Are the Alternatives?
A more responsible way to handle pets you cannot care
for is to take them to a local animal shelter or
rescue group. Shelters (and many rescue groups) will
ensure that the animals are properly vaccinated,
spayed or neutered, and placed in a responsible home
where the animals will be cared for properly. When
contacing a shelter or rescue group, find out if they
do home checks. While home-checks are not standard
policy for all facilities, try to place the animals
with facilities that will do a home check.
If the pet was bought from a responsible breeder, the
pet owner should contact the breeder, because he/she
will take back the pet. If animal was not obtained
from a responsible breeder, but is of a particular
breed, contact the appropriate breed rescue
organization.
Visit the websites below to find a shelter or rescue
near you:
* Petfinder
* Pets911
* 1-800-Save-A-Pet
* Yahoo Directory
* World Animal Net
* Adopt An Animal Canada for Canadian residents
If you are concerned about whether or not your pet may
be euthanised if released to a shelter, you can simply
contact the shelter and find out whether or not they
are a "no-kill" facility.
pet-abuse.com
What To Do If You Must Give Your Pet Away
If you absolutely must place the animal yourself,
please be sure to read the HSUS Guidelines For Finding
a Responsible Home For Your Pet to learn ways you can
help ensure the person you are releasing your animal
to is truly willing and capable of caring for your
pet, and be sure to use the animal cruelty database to
check for prior convictions of animal cruelty.
Helpful Tips
* Don't advertise "Free pet"
* Spay/neuter the animal to avoid attracting
backyard breeders or puppy mill operators
* Charge at least $25 to discourage resale of pets
to labs and others
* Ask each prospective owner for his/her
veterinarian's name as a reference and check it.
* Ask for identification in the form of a photo
I.D. Write down the information, or scan/photocopy it
if possible
* Ask for a phone number and explain that you'd
like to check on how the animal's doing. An honest
person will gladly share the information with you.
* Have the person sign an "adoption" contract
concerning your pet stating that they will not go to
research. Having this in writing gives you legal
recourse.
* Ask to visit the place where your pet will live
before your release the pet to the new owner.
Don't assume because someone brings their wife or
children that they are honest and will give your pet a
good home. There are documented case in which
"brokers" brought their children with them when
collecting animals so that they would look
"legitimate".
If time is of the essence and you must leave your pet,
please take it to a reputable public or private
shelter rather than give it away free to someone you
don't know anything about.
Unlike selling a used care or appliance, finding a
home for your beloved pet is an emotional as well as
practical experience. If you act with your heart and
avoid acting in haste, you'll be headed in the right
direction.
What To Do If You See A "Free To Good Home" Ad
Whether it is in a newspaper or on the Internet,
please take a moment and contact the person who is
running the ad. Let them know about the dangers of
"Free To Good Home" ads and tell them to proceed very
carefully with the adoption, including copying
identification (driver's license), checking
references, performing a home check before the
adoption, using a signed application and contract, and
doing follow-ups. Do not feel embarrassed to contact
the person who posted the ad. Many people are grateful
that you took the time to inform them of dangers they
were unaware of.
If the ad you found was on the Internet, contact the
site owner to request that they disallow the posting
of ads for free animals on their site. Also contact
your local newspaper and ask them to run a warning
about placing "Free To Good Home" ads. Visit
HelpingAnimals.Com to view a sample letter.
If there was only some way we could guarantee good and loving homes to all the children that are being conceived and being born. As scary as it seems, and as horrific the implications, it reminds me of what my mother used to say "families should be carefully screened before being able to give birth." Whether it was in regards to herself and my father, or just because of the things she had seen from being a nurse for over 30 years I don't know. I know you get into all kinds of scary territory when you think along those lines, but it is just a thought that I have passed on, and I was just thinking along those lines after reading the news again today.
¶ 6/04/2005 12:09:00 PM 1 comments
"Free to Good Homes" Ads
When people can no longer care for a pet, or if their
pets have had babies that they cannot care for, many
people opt to place an ad in a newspaper or website
advertising the unwanted animals as "free to a good
home". While intentions are usually good in these
situations, we strongly advise against this approach.
"Free" is all too often seen as "worthless" in the eye
of the beholder.
Pets obtained for free are are less likely to be
spayed or neutered by their new owners (why bother
with vet bills?), and more likely to be abused and/or
discarded, because "there are plenty more where that
came from!"
A recent study at one animal shelter yielded the
startling statistic that 41% of all owner-surrendered
dogs had been obtained "Free to good home."
This is how some people see your "free" loved one:
# Free snake food.
# Free animal for malicious pranks.
# Free animal to set on fire or insert a firecracker
into.
# Free to breed indiscriminately.
# Free animal to hoard and neglect.
What Is A "Buncher?"
A buncher either steals or "adopts" companion animals
for the purpose of selling the animal. Bunchers can
sell animals for one or more of the following reasons:
# To be used in research labs
# To be used as bait to train dogs in fighting rings
or hunting dogs
# To be used as breeding stock in puppy mills or
catteries
"Bunchers" can be very deceptive and they prey on
people who place "free to good home" ads. They will
sometimes use children as part of the ploy and present
themselves as a "perfect" family. If something sounds
too good to be true, it probably is!
What Are the Alternatives?
A more responsible way to handle pets you cannot care
for is to take them to a local animal shelter or
rescue group. Shelters (and many rescue groups) will
ensure that the animals are properly vaccinated,
spayed or neutered, and placed in a responsible home
where the animals will be cared for properly. When
contacing a shelter or rescue group, find out if they
do home checks. While home-checks are not standard
policy for all facilities, try to place the animals
with facilities that will do a home check.
If the pet was bought from a responsible breeder, the
pet owner should contact the breeder, because he/she
will take back the pet. If animal was not obtained
from a responsible breeder, but is of a particular
breed, contact the appropriate breed rescue
organization.
Visit the websites below to find a shelter or rescue
near you:
* Petfinder
* Pets911
* 1-800-Save-A-Pet
* Yahoo Directory
* World Animal Net
* Adopt An Animal Canada for Canadian residents
If you are concerned about whether or not your pet may
be euthanised if released to a shelter, you can simply
contact the shelter and find out whether or not they
are a "no-kill" facility.
pet-abuse.com
What To Do If You Must Give Your Pet Away
If you absolutely must place the animal yourself,
please be sure to read the HSUS Guidelines For Finding
a Responsible Home For Your Pet to learn ways you can
help ensure the person you are releasing your animal
to is truly willing and capable of caring for your
pet, and be sure to use the animal cruelty database to
check for prior convictions of animal cruelty.
Helpful Tips
* Don't advertise "Free pet"
* Spay/neuter the animal to avoid attracting
backyard breeders or puppy mill operators
* Charge at least $25 to discourage resale of pets
to labs and others
* Ask each prospective owner for his/her
veterinarian's name as a reference and check it.
* Ask for identification in the form of a photo
I.D. Write down the information, or scan/photocopy it
if possible
* Ask for a phone number and explain that you'd
like to check on how the animal's doing. An honest
person will gladly share the information with you.
* Have the person sign an "adoption" contract
concerning your pet stating that they will not go to
research. Having this in writing gives you legal
recourse.
* Ask to visit the place where your pet will live
before your release the pet to the new owner.
Don't assume because someone brings their wife or
children that they are honest and will give your pet a
good home. There are documented case in which
"brokers" brought their children with them when
collecting animals so that they would look
"legitimate".
If time is of the essence and you must leave your pet,
please take it to a reputable public or private
shelter rather than give it away free to someone you
don't know anything about.
Unlike selling a used care or appliance, finding a
home for your beloved pet is an emotional as well as
practical experience. If you act with your heart and
avoid acting in haste, you'll be headed in the right
direction.
What To Do If You See A "Free To Good Home" Ad
Whether it is in a newspaper or on the Internet,
please take a moment and contact the person who is
running the ad. Let them know about the dangers of
"Free To Good Home" ads and tell them to proceed very
carefully with the adoption, including copying
identification (driver's license), checking
references, performing a home check before the
adoption, using a signed application and contract, and
doing follow-ups. Do not feel embarrassed to contact
the person who posted the ad. Many people are grateful
that you took the time to inform them of dangers they
were unaware of.
If the ad you found was on the Internet, contact the
site owner to request that they disallow the posting
of ads for free animals on their site. Also contact
your local newspaper and ask them to run a warning
about placing "Free To Good Home" ads. Visit
HelpingAnimals.Com to view a sample letter.
If there was only some way we could guarantee good and loving homes to all the children that are being conceived and being born. As scary as it seems, and as horrific the implications, it reminds me of what my mother used to say "families should be carefully screened before being able to give birth." Whether it was in regards to herself and my father, or just because of the things she had seen from being a nurse for over 30 years I don't know. I know you get into all kinds of scary territory when you think along those lines, but it is just a thought that I have passed on, and I was just thinking along those lines after reading the news again today.
¶ 6/04/2005 12:09:00 PM 1 comments
Thursday, June 02, 2005
Something else heavy on my heart....
I will admit that I have a limited understanding of animal testing and procedures. But I do know that no matter what the product is that "might" need animal testing done, it does not excuse cruel or inhumane behavior from humans.
Though I myself am unable to look at or view videos of such atrocities I know that they exist. If you are interested in being made aware of such things please click on the above title and this link and you will learn more then you ever wanted to know about such things. Yet, on the other hand it does give you a small voice when you choose products that are on the "don't do animal testing"list.
Here is a blog that might interest those who follow these things.
Now while I post this I also want to say that the other thing that weighs heavy on my heart is the abuse done to children. I could also name many other people in the categories that are subject to human caregivers....But I just can't right now. The list is too numerous.
It has been proven time and time again that those who are in the position to oversee foster children, etc....That they need someone to oversee them. Somehow we need to have a checks and balances taking place to cover all "these" organizations. It would probably end up being a huge circle of overseers , but no One organization can be trusted to watch another. Why am I writing this, all you have to do is read the paper to realize that nobody can totally do their job. There are not enough funds to pay the proper amount of people needed to oversee anything. To lay the responsibility on any one organization is only asking for trouble. Look at what's happening regarding Medicaid and Viagra, Social Services and Foster Children, The Bush administration and Iraq....etc...etc...etc...The list is endless and it will continue to be....I myself don't even know where to start...Or in which direction to go.
In regards to the Downing Street Memo, you can read the memo here yourself and sign this petition to have the Bush administration held accountable to it and respond to the allegations that it makes. Here I express only somethings that affect me, this in no way diminishes all the other things, such as the governments total disregard for our soldiers in supplying them with inadequate supplies needed to protect themselves, or all the lying liars telling lies to trusting citizens of the United States of America.
Here is a quote from Bill Maher regarding this book: ~Making Kind Choices~ that deals with animal cruelty. Now I have not read this book but what I liked was this quote regarding Animals, and I want to take the liberty to add the word Children right along side it. "....... is about us—about how in a world so violent and cruel, there is no way to pretend we're kind people unless we extend our kindness to those who are the most innocent and helpless. Animals, be they in our homes or in the wild, are always the canary in the mine as to how we treat each other."
ps. Though I myself do not eat much meat, I just want it understood that in no way do I condemn anybody who does. There are humane and inhumane ways of raising animals for food, too. It sounds hypocritical but I believe animals were meant for our nutritional needs just as the fruit and vegetables that we grow.
I will admit that I have a limited understanding of animal testing and procedures. But I do know that no matter what the product is that "might" need animal testing done, it does not excuse cruel or inhumane behavior from humans.
Though I myself am unable to look at or view videos of such atrocities I know that they exist. If you are interested in being made aware of such things please click on the above title and this link and you will learn more then you ever wanted to know about such things. Yet, on the other hand it does give you a small voice when you choose products that are on the "don't do animal testing"list.
Here is a blog that might interest those who follow these things.
Now while I post this I also want to say that the other thing that weighs heavy on my heart is the abuse done to children. I could also name many other people in the categories that are subject to human caregivers....But I just can't right now. The list is too numerous.
It has been proven time and time again that those who are in the position to oversee foster children, etc....That they need someone to oversee them. Somehow we need to have a checks and balances taking place to cover all "these" organizations. It would probably end up being a huge circle of overseers , but no One organization can be trusted to watch another. Why am I writing this, all you have to do is read the paper to realize that nobody can totally do their job. There are not enough funds to pay the proper amount of people needed to oversee anything. To lay the responsibility on any one organization is only asking for trouble. Look at what's happening regarding Medicaid and Viagra, Social Services and Foster Children, The Bush administration and Iraq....etc...etc...etc...The list is endless and it will continue to be....I myself don't even know where to start...Or in which direction to go.
In regards to the Downing Street Memo, you can read the memo here yourself and sign this petition to have the Bush administration held accountable to it and respond to the allegations that it makes. Here I express only somethings that affect me, this in no way diminishes all the other things, such as the governments total disregard for our soldiers in supplying them with inadequate supplies needed to protect themselves, or all the lying liars telling lies to trusting citizens of the United States of America.
Here is a quote from Bill Maher regarding this book: ~Making Kind Choices~ that deals with animal cruelty. Now I have not read this book but what I liked was this quote regarding Animals, and I want to take the liberty to add the word Children right along side it.
ps. Though I myself do not eat much meat, I just want it understood that in no way do I condemn anybody who does. There are humane and inhumane ways of raising animals for food, too. It sounds hypocritical but I believe animals were meant for our nutritional needs just as the fruit and vegetables that we grow.
