Anyone for a Snowball Fight?

This is the only bad thing about snow. Al even shoveled a spot for Daily in the backyard, but she still has to do a perimeter check and walk through the deepest snow. Hmmmmm. Something to be said for a hairless dog.

And It's Still Snowing!

We have at least 5 inches, and should have 12 to 14 by the time it's all over. Good thing I bought more hot chocolate!

JK Rowling Raises Money for MS

Besides being a wonderful and creative writer, JK Rowling also devotes her time and money to support MS research. She hosted a charity ball at Stirling Castle in Scotland on Friday night, raising £200,000. The article is here.

Rowling's mother died of MS, that's why she is such a strong supporter. There was a scavenger hunt, with Rowling writing the clues. How fun would that be?!?

There was also an auction. And one of my favorite writers, Ian Rankin, donated a chance to have the highest bidder's name to be used as a villian or hero in his next Rebus book. How cool is that?!?

What fun that would have been.

Snow Coming

Apparently, snow is heading towards us. I think it's pretty typical to get one more snow in March here in the midwest. It's a last hurrah for those of us who actually like the snow and the cold. Poor hubby. He's cold. He's been cold since October, and his mood is very much connected to the temperature of his feet. We're going to have to retire to differnt parts of the country, I'm afraid. I don't like being hot, and he doesn't like being cold. How have we lasted 16 years!?!

Anyway, snow. I hope it does. I hope it just dumps feets and feets of snow. Large, wet, heavy flakes that snow us in for at least 2 days. I want a good excuse to curl up on the couch in front of a fire, drink hot chocolate, and read a good book or finish knitting the hat I'm donating to the hospital for chemo patients. And Al doesn't have to work for the next 4 days, so if he wants to get out and drive around for fun, he can. Although, he's taken the snow tires off the Miata, so I guess he'll have to just drive the truck.

Yes, snow tires on the convertible sports car. You know you're a redneck when . . .
The first time was when we were in Ohio. My brother, who was up for Christmas, called me at work after our first big snow storm there. He said, "You're husband has a funny idea of fun." He told me he was putting snow tires on the Miata. The next thing I knew, I got an email from my crazy husband. It was a video from the inside of the car, and he was doing donuts in an empty parking lot. Maybe he could handle a little cold weather after all.

So, what should I read? I'm up to Black and Blue in the Rebus mystery series, but I haven't gotten it yet. I'm still reading The Artist's Way, but I'm taking that a week at a time so that I can actually do the exercises in the book (gotta get my brain going). Maybe Bel Canto? I've had that on my "read me" shelf for quite a while now. Or maybe The Historian? I can finally get that from the library without waiting for months at a time. I just don't know.

But first, I have to go get some more hot chocolate mix!

Doctor Who

The Sci Fi channel is showing the latest (2005) Doctor Who incarnation. Now, I'm not a "Who Geek." I swear. Although, I used to watch it every time it was on all those years ago on PBS. It was just great hokey fun. And I really liked Tom Baker's long, colorful scarf. Hmmm. I bet I could knit one of those!

The latest series, though, was really cool. They showed the premier last night--two episodes back-to-back, and I watched them both times! This new Doctor is so good. Very funny, very intelligent, very eccentric, and just so darn cute. He's Christoper Eccelston, and I've been a fan of his for a while. Since I instist on having BBC America where ever we live, I've seen him in several things. And if you've seen The Others (and you should) and/or 28 Days Later (and you should), then you've seen him, too. He was Nicole Kidman's husband and the terrifying military leader, in those movies.

Anyway, it was pretty good, and I'm looking forward to the next episodes. Especially next week because there are ghosts in it! I love ghost stories. Unfortunately, he only stayed in the role for one season. David Tennant, Barty Crouch in Harry Potter GOF, has taken over the role, filming now in the UK.

Check it out!

For Ireland

In honor of St. Patrick's day, here is one of my favorite Yeats poems. I love it because it captures that feeling of romantic daydreaming about being in a comforting and peaceful place. Probably because he was in London at the time, daydreaming of being home in Ireland.
Enjoy!

The Lake Isle of Innisfree
W.B. Yeats

I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree,
And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made:
Nine bean-rows will I have there, a hive for the honey-bee,
And live alone in the bee-loud glade.

And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow,
Dropping from the veils of the mourning to where the cricket sings;
There midnight's all a glimmer, and noon a purple glow,
And evening full of the linnet's wings.

I will arise and go now, for always night and day
I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore;
While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavements grey,
I hear it in the deep heart's core.

Morning Pages

I've been reading The Artist's Way on the recommendation of my good friend, Rose. It's pretty interesting, and I am finding myself in the author's descriptions. That "shadow voice" that tells you that you aren't good enough or creative enough, so you find other ways to be involved with artists instead of being one yourself. You buy pieces of art, you become a patron of the local theater, you take a job where you support other creative people, all because you are afraid to try to do it yourself and find that you are creative after all.

One of the exercises and something the author recommends doing every day is called "Morning Pages." I love this idea. It's just you, a pen, and a spiral notebook. You write steam of consciousness for 3 pages--whatever comes into your mind. This will dump all those extraneous thoughts in your head so that you can focus your thoughts on what you need to do that day. It also dumps all those self-conscious and destructive thoughts because you can write them out of your head instead leaving them in there to fester.

I had no problem filling 3 pages. And I did feel better. So, I think I'll keep trying it.

Craving

I'm craving cookies, so I think I'll make one of my favorites. I call them Road Trip Cookies because I always make them and take them on road trips. Brilliant, huh? We drove from San Antonio to Las Vegas in our Miata, and these cookies helped get us through those long stretches. Enjoy!

Road Trip Cookies

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons firmly packed brown sugar
3 eggs
1 18-oz jar smooth peanut butter (I prefer Skippy!)
3/4 teaspoon light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
4 1/2 cups regular oats, uncooked
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup mini chocolate chips (actually, I used almost the entire bag)

Using a mixer, cream butter, then gradually add both sugars. Beat well. Add eggs, peanut butter, syrup, and vanilla and beat well until all incorporated. Add oats, soda, and salt and mix well (you can do this step with a spoon since the dough gets pretty stiff). Stir in chocolate chips.

Using a 1/4-cup measuring cup, drop dough 4 inches apart onto lightly greased cookie sheet, or cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Lightly press each cookie into a circle with fingertips. Bake at 350 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes (centers of cookies will be soft). Cool slightly on cookie sheet then remove to cooling rack to cool completely. Makes about 2 1/2 dozen.

Where's the Outrage?!?

OK, South Dakota makes it's stand against abortion because life begins at conception. In France, The European Courts of Human Rights has ruled that Natalie Evans can't keep her frozen embryos by an ex-fiance and they must be destroyed. Hello? Where are all the self-righteous pro-lifers? The articles is here. There's another good article here.

Basically, Ms. Evans had cancer and they had to remove her ovaries. She and her then-fiance fertilized her eggs and had them frozen. But they broke up and the ex has decided he doesn't want to be a daddy and withrew his consent for her to use them.

Maybe the right-to-lifers don't care because this happened in another country? Hasn't stopped them before. Baptisits make it part of their calling to go to other countries to get them to change their ways to Christian values.

Maybe they don't feel like they can fight British law: under British law an embryo does not have independent rights or interests. Interesting. I wonder, do we have a law like that? Is fertilization not the same as conception? Is it only life if it's in a womb?

Or maybe it's because it's ok for a man to have a say about when he has children, but it's not ok for a woman? In the article, the ex is quoted, “The key thing for me was just to be able to decide when and if I start a family. So, that's been the basis for it,” he told journalists in Cheltenham, England. Yikes! Why does his say over-rule hers?

The article for the The Globe and Mail said that they were asking the embryos not be destroyed in case Evans can think of something else, but the article in my paper said they were going to be destroyed.

Again, where is the outrage?

Hope Against Hope

In my next life, I'm coming back as Kiera Knightly.

Charmed No More

I'm sad. Charmed is ending after 8 seasons on the WB. It was supposed to end last year, but was renewed one more time. But this will be the last year.

And I only have one thing to say--They better bring Leo back and have him and Piper live happily ever after!

I'm sad to see it go, but there are always the reruns. And I haven't been following it as closely this last year as I did before, so I guess it's time.

But still.

Buffy, Angel, now Charmed. There's nothing for Al and Jay to tease me about watching now.

Got My Aura Back

When I was a teenager, I was the babysitter--kids loved me. And all through my 20s and my early 30s, when my friends where having babies and I was surrounded by kids, kids loved me. But then I hit that age where my friends' kids were growing up and there weren't any more coming along. Then we found another couple who were DINKs like we were, so I wasn't around kids any more. Then I went into the "the dark period" and didn't care if I had friends at all. And somewhere in there, I lost my "kid aura."

Babies didn't lunge for me any more. Kids didn't come running up to hug Miss Kelley any more. I realized this the hard way when I volunteered to babysit my friend's 3 month old, who screamed and cried the whole time I was there. This is like separation anxiety to the extreme! I felt pretty helpless, calling my friend apologetically wondering if she should come home. But this was her third kid, so she said he would calm down eventually. Well, he didn't, no matter what I did. Actually, he calmed down a little when I turned on Dora the Explorer, but that show lasted only about 20 minutes, dammit. So, he cried until his mom came home. And even though I've never been haunted by the ticking clock, I felt bad that I had lost some kind of bond with kids that used to be so natural to me.

Until yesterday. I have a friend who after giving up on having a baby, of course, got pregnant. Her little boy is 3 months old, and I was hesitant to be around him. It had been 2 years since the last 3-month-old cryfest, and I hadn't been around a baby since. Luckily, I had nothing to worry about.

While Mom put together a frame (framing has become a necessary hobby), I held the little one, who was fussy because he needed a nap. But as I held him, he smiled and giggled and seemed genuinely happy to be held and cuddled. After doing that stand and sway thing for a while, and him still awake, my back yelled at me sit the hell down! So, I did. I rubbed his tummy while he sucked on his thumb and before I knew it, he was aleep! Hmmm, that tummy rub works pretty well--just like a little alligator without teeth. I put him back in his car seat, and Mom promised me lunch next time we go out. Score! Sleeping baby and a free lunch!

So, I guess I didn't lose my aura completely; it just went dormant for a while. Hmmm, I wonder what other things will perk up?

Blowin' in the Wind

I'm not real great with heights, but I walked up to the top of this observation tower at the local state park. Did you know that perfectly secure structures sway when you get up that high? Woooooh! That's a little freaky. Funny how you forget your science until you get up there. Plus, the stairs were open, so I could see the ground getting further away with each step. However, the view is gorgeous up there. Contrary to popular belief, Nebraska is actually really pretty. A little flat, and it's still the middle of nowhere, but it's pretty.

Still, I was happy to be on the ground again.

Just Silly

The authors of The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail are suing Dan Brown because they say he stole their ideas for The DaVinci Code. Good grief.

First of all, they presented their book as nonfiction. Therefore, it's a theory that can be used and talked about. Therefore, writing a work of fiction that brings forth a known theory, is not stealing! Geez.

Second of all, The DaVinci Code has been out and on the bestseller list for over 3 years. And now that the movie is getting ready to come out, NOW they want to sue. Unbelievable.

I hate being manipulated.

Knitting Projects

Here are two of the latest knitting projects I'm working on. The small one is a baby hat for a friend's new baby (it's being knitted in the round). The other is a poncho that I can't wait to get done!

Sex Pistols Vs Hall of Fame

The Sex Pistols have turned down an invitation to be inducted into the Rock-n-Roll Hall of Fame. Well, duh! Does this really surprise anyone? I would be disappointed if they did show up.

Here's the article. Warning, if you are stickler for grammar, don't read very closely. Then again, if you're a stickler for grammar, you probably aren't interested any way.

The Women of Today

Jay sent me an article that he knew would get those hairs on the back of my neck up. And he was right, so I have share it here. It is an article about how the Southern Baptists are trying to take over control of the women's missionary union. The women's group has been independent since 1888. But, the SBC doesn't like that they work with other Baptists or the fact that they don't have any control over this group. And those are not my words, read the article here.

Then Jay said, "Aren't you glad so many of your fellow women voted for Bush?" Of course I'm not happy so many voted for Bush. And I'm surrounded by women who did, who are equally shocked that I didn't. I don't know how to explain to them that I see a train wreck coming when they are so blissfully happy.

Women are just reflecting the movement that been coming for years. They stopped supporting each other as they acquired more (what they perceived of as) power, then wondered why they felt so disillusioned and alone. So, they turned to husbands and families to fill the void and now they are conservatives!

Women have to feel needed and they want to be warm—that’s what the feminist movement has failed to admit and accept. The image of the cold-fish, powerful, intellectual woman who has sex when SHE wants to just isn’t appealing at the end of the day. I think that women want balance in their lives, and after all these years they still battle that because they have the extremist yelling at them that they are doing it wrong. No wonder they are relenting and letting their husbands or men in general take over. They’re tired, and it’s just easier to let someone else do the heavy stuff, so that they can take care of things at home. Look how the first thing people say on those home shows is, “We just love to entertain.” Woman as hostess, woman as cook, woman as homemaker—that’s where their pride lies. And there’s nothing wrong with that, as long as they realize that encouraging women to abdicate their power back to men, they are also giving up the choices and the independence the women before them worked so hard to achieve.


End rant. For today.

Laughter in Heaven

Don Knotts passed away. I'm sure he's keeping everyone laughing in heaven.

Cross SD off the list

Well, on my list of places I might want to live in or visit, guess you can cross off South Dakota. I just can't believe they are seriously considering outlawing abortion. It's not a debate about the morality of abortion for me, it's about a woman's right to choose being taken away. A legal procedure that is being outlawed because a group of men are trying to push their agenda. It's really hard to put this into words because I'm so angry.

*I'm angry at this group of men deciding what's best for the women of the state.

I'm angry at conservatives for manipulating the American public to the point of controling the most personal and individual choice a woman has.

*I'm angry that conservatives preach and preach about small government and how the liberals are trying to tell you how to live your life, yet they have been chipping away at our right to choose for years. And it looks like they are succeeding because the American public are too naive to see they are being dictated to instead of led.

*I'm angry that so many important concerns are being ignored to benefit the converstive, right wing, Christian Coalition agenda--SD would not allow abortion in any situation other than the life of the mother, ignoring rape, incest, poverty, so on.

*I'm angry at the image in my head of a group of smug, old, arrogant men laughing and hi-fiving each other with their Bibles for finally putting women in their place and for pushing the conservative agenda ever closer to the point of domination over all our freedoms.

*I'm angry that I know these people supporting this new ban don't give a damn about the women in their state. All they care about is their political position. This is just the first step. Next step will be other states, then the Supreme Court. [Shudder]

Think I'm exaggerating? I don't. Wake up! We're being manipulated and controlled by a group of crusty old men who want to control everything in our lives. Don't let it happen! Vote out the republicans!

Yes, I Can!

I gave myself a shot today! I practiced on an orange, then I did it. And holy cow, it was easy and painless. And that's a good thing because I pretty much have to do this once a week for the rest of my life. So, good thing it was easy.

I have a mild case of MS, but with medication, it hopefully won't get much worse for a long time. The Avonex I'm taking slows the progression of the disease and decreases the number of flare ups I'll have. And if it works, it's worth one little shot a week.

I'm just so friggin' proud of myself. I'm not horribly needle-phobic and I had really worked on calming myself down and felt ready for it. But I'm still proud of myself.

And can I admit something really kind of silly? I was watching the propaganda informational DVD that came with my medicine, fully expecting to be talked down to. But I'm actually glad I watched it, just for the testimonials. Not only because one of the hosts of the DVD was a neurologist who has MS (he has MS and can still be a doctor!) but because there was a young woman who admitted that one of the things that had upset her about having MS was that she couldn't wear her favorite high heel boots and shoes again. But being on the medication she can. And I started crying because I had thought the same thing! It's such a simple thing, but I want to wear my high-heeled boots! I like how I look and feel in them, and I was afraid that as this disease got worse, I'd be wearing old-lady, comfortable shoes. I know, such a shallow thing, but somehow it represented some of the freedom I might be losing, and here was this woman saying that it doesn't have to be that way.

OK. That's enough confessions for one night. I'll do lighter stuff later. It's probably time for a Daily Dog update. Or I'll take a picture of my latest knitting projects. Anything but talking about illness.