He’s Back!

But, then again, perhaps he never really left.


This evening, MSNBC aired a two hour special rebroadcasting the question and answer period from President Obama’s unprecedented meeting today with House Republicans, at their retreat in Baltimore, Maryland. (MSNBC broke the report up by questions. I believe this link will take you to the correct page so you can view each segment in turn.) Watching President Obama during Wednesday’s State of the Union Address I was buoyed and encouraged. But tonight I was reminded of exactly why I voted for Barack Obama. The guy is brilliant. He’s not as liberal as I wish he were, but he’s as liberal as anyone could be and still get elected president. He’s a policy wonk, which I like. He tends toward the professorial, which is fine. I admire his devotion to bipartisanship, even though there are times when I would prefer him to just strong arm his way through legislation. He has an easy grace when speaking extemporaneously. He can be casual and colloquial, but, unlike some of our politicians, is never crude. Yes, I know he is ridiculed for his use of tele-prompters, but no one can deny the man is extremely intelligent and articulate. Plus, he has a staggering depth and breadth of knowledge on all aspects of the government and the challenges we are facing as a nation. He also has a sense of humor, which I think is vital to the job. And he is the epitome of cool. Being calm, self possessed and not easily ruffled or riled ought to be a Constitutional requirement to be president!

Today, President Barack Obama faced off against House Republicans and hit for the cycle - - - with extra home runs right over the Green Monster!

Thank you Mr. President.

Patience

“Patience and fortitude
conquer all things.”

- Ralph Waldo Emerson
(May 25, 1803 – April 27, 1882)


We shall see Mr. Emerson.
We shall see...

SCOTUS Update

Chuck and I were speaking with a friend of ours today who is about the most right-wing, rock-ribbed a Republican person that we know. He’s also pro-business and against “big government”. Out of the blue he asked us what we thought about last week’s Supreme Court decision. Now, part of how we all remain friends is that we don’t get ourselves unnecessarily into heated political discussions. We hold fast to the values and interests we hold in common and let sleeping dogs lie. Well, we answered truthfully that we thought it was a terrible decision. We felt the Supreme Court over reached badly and needlessly. And we felt that it would be a devastating shift in the balance of power between individuals and corporations. Our friend shocked us when he said: “I agree with you completely.” He went on to say that he felt it could lead to the undermining of our democracy as we have known it.

So, it’s not just the liberals.

Look At Their Eyes

According to the Library of Congress, these children were protesting against child labor while marching in a labor parade. The photo was taken on May 1, 1909, most likely in New York City. One girl’s banner is written in Yiddish, the other in English. Both are holding American flags.

Look at their eyes; their slight, sweet smiles.

This was 1909. Real and lasting change in child labor practices would not be realized for twenty-nine more years. That was when President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938.


Original Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress. Adjustments by LMR/Pink Granite. Software: Apple iPhoto ’09 & Adobe Photoshop CS3 for Mac.

ShelterBox

ShelterBox strikes me as a brilliant idea! Vital supplies are bundled into a large, reusable 40 gallon storage box and shipped off to aid victims of natural disasters. The location and circumstances of each crisis helps determine what will be in the ShelterBoxes, but at least one ten-person tent is always included. The charity was created by Tom Henderson in 2000 in Cornwall, England. It began with Mr. Henderson’s Rotary Club in Helston-Lizard, but is now supported by Rotary Clubs and individuals around the world. You can read more about the contents of the boxes and see one in detail here.

I’ve been unable to find a rating and review of ShelterBox on Charity Navigator, but it is registered with the Charity Commission which regulates charities in England and Wales. Based on a few Google searches, fundraisers for ShelterBox are taking place all over the U.S. right now. More than 1700 boxes have already been sent to and are being deployed in Haiti.

Here’s a brief CNN video about ShelterBox.

Here’s the ShelterBox Flickr Photostream.

And you can find ShelterBox on Twitter.

I Still Wish...

I first wrote and posted this piece in 2007. I have posted it every year since. My feelings have not changed. I believe it bears repeating. Perhaps more so this year after the horribly divisive and violent year we have had. While there has been change in the membership of the Supreme Court, we still have the same balance of conservative, moderate and liberal justices. The Supreme Court is key to this issue.

Today is the 37th anniversary of the United States Supreme Court Decision known as Roe v. Wade.

In light of this anniversary I have a few wishes to state:

- I wish, that from this moment on, no woman would ever have to make the decision to have an abortion.
- I wish contraceptives, including the morning after pill, would always be readily available to all women.
- I wish that all young people would be taught age appropriate sex and health education.
- I wish that all young people would be taught that abstinence is a legitimate choice, at the same time they get clear information about all forms of contraception.
- And I wish that abortion would always be safe and legal and available to all women.

Houston, We Have A Problem

Hell, it’s not just Houston. It’s every state in these United States of America and every citizen therein.

Today, the United States Supreme Court totally screwed us - us human citizens that is. I have seen it referred to as “Judicial Activism”. Oh, the unmitigated irony! And judicial activism ain’t even close.

My summary: Corporations, unions, and other organizations can now pour their money into political campaigns - not a trickle from a dripping faucet; a freakin’ fire hose at full pressure.

But I am not a lawyer.
Nor am I a suddenly politically omnipotent corporation.
I’m just a human being.

Read more in multiple posts at SCOTUS Blog.

More still at Jonathan Turley’s blog. (Professor Turley is less upset than I am.)

A summary and editorial in the Washington Post.

President Obama’s statement on this decision.

And the Supreme Court’s 183 page Opinion in PDF - includes majority and minority opinions.

Thank You Mr. Parker

Robert Brown Parker, author, died at his desk Monday.
I thoroughly enjoyed all of his books.
I refer you to this report in the New York Times by Bruce Weber. He does a far better job than I ever could in summing up Mr. Parker’s life.
For even greater appreciation and background on Robert B. Parker, I recommend this article, also from the New York Times, by John Kifner.

Thank you Mr. Parker.
Your work will live on.
But you and the further adventures of all of your wonderful characters shall be sorely missed.


My earlier post on Mr. Parker

Happy Birthday!

”Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday dear Gail
Happy Birthday to you -
and many more!
Wheeeeeee!!!”

It’s my sister Gail’s birthday today and it’s an important one - one involving a zero!
Yay Gail!

The Work Goes On...

Unfortunately, Republican Scott Brown defeated Democrat Martha Coakley.


“...the work goes on,
the cause endures,
the hope still lives
& the dream shall never die.”
- Senator Ted Kennedy first at the 1980 Democratic National Convention and again at the 2008 Democratic Convention


“The work begins anew.
The hope rises again.
And the dream lives on.”
- Senator Ted Kennedy at the 2008 Democratic Convention

This Is It!

Have I mentioned today is election day here in Massachusetts?
Good!



Turn HOPE into reality. VOTE!

It’s Time

Fired up!
Ready to go!

Tomorrow is the special senate election here in Massachusetts.
The polls will be open from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
If you need information about your polling place go the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s website.

I’ll be casting my ballot for Martha Coakley.
I hope you will be too.


Live your values.
Love your country.
VOTE!

Pat Boone? Seriously?

Our telephone has been ringing off the hook the last few days. We’ve suddenly become “popular” with various political organizations and action committees. We’ve gotten so many “robo-calls” lately, that this afternoon, Chuck picked up the receiver on what the Caller I.D. showed as another “unknown number” and he didn’t even bother to say hello. Instead of the expected taped message beginning to play, a woman’s voice began saying “Hello? Hello?” Ooops! A genuine human being was calling to encourage us to vote for Martha Coakley!

Later, while I was on the phone with my mother in Rhode Island, another robo-call message was left on our voice mail. This one was from Pat Boone. Yes, that Pat Boone, the singer, Mr. White Bucks himself. He’s now a spokesperson for an extremely conservative right wing organization (60 Plus Warning: a video plays automatically) which claims to be working on behalf of senior citizens. In my humble opinion, scaring the bejeezus out of seniors is more accurate. Pat was calling to tell us to vote for Scott Brown.

Pat Boone has always been on the far right in his politics. But in the last several years he’s joined forces with “World Net Daily” where he has published several screeds. Yes, that World Net Daily, home planet of the wingnuts. One of Boone’s pieces published in August 2009, compared liberals to the “black filthy cells” of cancer. When you go to the World Net Daily website (They’re easy to locate. I won’t link to them.) to read any of Pat Boone’s “commentaries”, you’ll find multiple Scott Brown ads all over the pages. These ads were all paid for by “The Scott Brown for U.S. Senate Committee”.

That is Scott Brown’s target audience.

Electioneering

As a registered lower case “i” independent (unenrolled) voter here in Massachusetts I often get mailings from political candidates. Today I received two slightly different pieces of mail from REPUBLICAN candidate Scott Brown. I emphasize Mr. Brown’s party affiliation, because as Jim of Notes to Leicester points out, Mr. Brown likes to portray himself as an Independent. In fact, on both of today’s flyers, the only place the word “Republican” appears is in the small, light print over my mailing address. There you can find “Paid for by the Massachusetts Republican Party” and “Paid for by the Massachusetts Republican State Committee”. Unfortunately (Freudian-ly?), on the larger State Committee mailing, they list three dates: Black Friday, White Christmas and “Brown Tuesday”, referring rather inartfully to election day this Tuesday the 19th.

“Brown Tuesday”. Well, I know the first thing I thought of when I read “Brown Tuesday” and I don’t think it’s what the Republicans wanted me to think of. But I will check the bottoms of my shoes when I head to the polls Tuesday...

L'Union Fait La Force

One thing we know is that the need in Haiti is enormous now and will continue to be so into the foreseeable future. Haiti was the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere when the earthquake struck just before 5:00 p.m. Tuesday. Now it is in desperately worse straits.

There are many ways to contribute; many honorable, effective and efficient organizations are directing resources to Haiti. The Center for International Disaster Information, CIDI says “Americans Should Send Cash Donations to Best Aid Victims of Devastating Earthquake”. The Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI however, is warning folks to be cautious of scams. I’d suggest using Charity Navigator which provides very good ways to evaluate a charity. Their top rating is “4 Stars”, but each listing contains a wealth of information beyond that brief headline.

Here are some organizations which are accepting contributions to specifically help the people of Haiti:

Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (4 Stars)



Partners In Health (4 Stars)



Habitat for Humanity International (4 Stars)



American Jewish World Service (4 Stars)


American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (4 Stars)

I am unable to find an on-line reference, but on the radio today, we heard a statistic that the majority of donations will come in within the first six days following a disaster. Haiti will be in need for months, most likely years. So you may wish to consider periodic or ongoing donations to a favorite charity which will be in Haiti for the long haul.

Haiti’s motto is “L'Union Fait La Force”, which translates into “Strength Through Unity” - a phrase we can take inspiration from.

Senator Coakley

Yes I was underwhelmed by all the candidates before the primary and I wasn’t alone in that. But push has come to shove. The Massachusetts Senate Election is Tuesday. I’ll be voting for Martha Coakley.

Lord knows I could never pull the lever for Scott Brown. According to his own issues page, he’s planning to vote against the health insurance and healthcare legislation - and it’s not because it doesn’t include a sufficiently robust Public Option! Brown defends waterboarding, saying it isn’t torture. And, in my opinion, doesn’t have enough faith in our legal system and our Constitution to endorse the prosecution of terrorists in our own courts. Even though we have been doing that successfully since the first World Trade Center Bombing in 1993.

Have I wrapped my mind and heart around the fact that Martha Coakley is not Ted Kennedy? No. But Senator Kennedy became the Liberal Lion of the Senate over time. Now it’s Martha Coakley’s time to start to walk down that same path.

I Have No Clue

As I headed back to the car across the grounds of the Big E on Saturday, the icy wind was whipping. It was in the low twenties F (below zero C) and I was well bundled up. But I’d been walking for more than hour and really wanted to thaw out. The nearer I got to the car, the more direct my route became. I ignored any and all interesting architecture, angles and shadows to cut through a parking lot outside the huge building where a wedding expo was taking place. That’s when I spotted this vehicle.

My first reaction was “Ah Ha! Dunkin’ Donuts = Hot Coffee = Perfect”. But as I got closer, I realized it was a giant cup of ICED Coffee! I immediately felt colder! I know New Englanders are a hearty bunch. And we are known for consuming a greater amount of ice cream, in winter, per capita than anywhere else in the United States. But Iced Coffee was just plain silly! I snapped one last photo and went directly to the car, which I had purposely left in full sun. Ahhh... Perfect!

Same Sex Marriage Is Good For Society

Jeff over at Wormtown Taxi posted about this earlier today and I wanted to share it over here. Newsweek Magazine has published a piece entitled “The Conservative Case for Gay Marriage” written by someone with impeccable conservative credentials, attorney Theodore B. Olson. Olson has made a logical, thoughtful, fully reasoned case in support of same sex marriage. He takes every specious argument and calmly refutes each one.

The Village That Never Really Was

Yesterday, Chuck and I drove out to the Big E in West Springfield. Chuck visited a woodworking show and I took the camera with me as I walked around the extensive grounds. The photos below are all from the Storrowton Village. Storrowton was created by Helen Osborne Storrow in the 1920s and 30s by purchasing buildings from around New England. They were dismantled and then reconstructed on the grounds of the Eastern States Exposition, creating the museum which stands to this day.
The old Southwick Baptist Meeting House (c. 1822), which was modified and joined with the old Atkinson Tavern (c. 1789) to create the current Storrowton Tavern.


The steeple of the old Union Meeting House (c. 1834)


I love this tiny building! The old Zachariah Eddy Law Office (c. 1810), with its arched copper roof, would make a wonderful retreat or studio.


A window on the west side of the old Union Meeting House. I was instantly smitten with the old glass, the reflections in it, the candle with glass hurricane on the windowsill and the second window on the eastern side.

Angels

Even angels need a bit of fun; a moment’s respite; a return to childhood. Letting go of her responsibilities for just an instant, she flies down, letting her wings rest briefly in the light January snow. A laugh, bell-like; no, more like chimes, spills out into the wind. Then, as swiftly as she arrived, she’s gone. Only the snow angel remains - and that only ‘til the wind or sun or next snowfall makes us wonder, was she ever really there...

Update

You know that post-holiday lull that often happens right after New Year’s Day? Well, apparently it is not happening in 2010. A new wrinkle has developed with an ER (Elderly Relative) and that means it’s a preempt. Thankfully, health is not the issue; it’s more of a chess challenge! However, when I sit down at the keyboard, what I want to do is pour it all out in a post. But that’s way too much like a twenty-something’s middle of the night drunken phone call to an ex-boyfriend. It might feel good in that brief moment, but the next morning - between the hangover and the regret - Oy!

The meeting with our attorney was great. Very productive and it was good to catch up with her. We had reviewed all of our documents, annotated a copy of the will and felt we went in well prepared. She had some good suggestions, which we will follow up on. As a result, we should have all the “I”s dotted and all the “T”s crossed in fairly short order. Drawing up Last Wills and Testaments may not be a fun thing to do, but once it is completed and signed, it really does bring peace of mind.

I’m hoping to get out in the sunshine with the camera tomorrow. Fingers crossed...

Lineage

It wasn’t until I typed the title of this post that I thought about the interesting and coincidental meaning of it. You see, this evening, we had dinner at a restaurant on Harvard Street in Brookline, Massachusetts called “Lineage”. We went there with Chuck’s newly 87 year old aunt on this, her birthday. Hence, lineage had an extra depth to it!

The restaurant was lovely - spare, with white tablecloths, unusually shaped white plates and bowls, clam shells as salt and pepper dishes - a nice mix of formal and casual. The service was good - my standard of being attentive without being intrusive was met and exceeded. The only problem was when the restaurant suddenly filled up and there was significant delay between ordering dessert and coffee and its arrival at table. The daily menu was fresh, tasty and inventive without being pretentious or self consciously clever. I began with the roasted beet salad with goat cheese, greens and balsamic. It was delicious. Chuck had the cauliflower soup with curry - delicate and also delicious. The birthday gal definitely enjoyed her entree of grilled salmon with beluga lentils. Chuck chose pan seared striped bass with cippolini and tasso ham. While I ordered the ricotta cavatelli with butternut squash, spinach and shaved black truffle. Both dishes were delectable. For dessert, Auntie chose the butterscotch pudding with pecans, Chuck the apple streusel tart and I the pot de creme. Chuck was the clear winner there. The pot de creme was not nearly as complex as I had hoped. I guess years of savoring and cooking with Scharffen Berger chocolate has spoiled my taste buds!

All in all, it was a very nice way to kick off Tante’s “88th year”!

Planning For Alligators

Chuck and I are off to our attorney tomorrow. It’s been about a decade since we had our wills and all the attendant documents drawn up. Having gone through a rather lengthy process after Chuck’s Dad passed away last February, we are acutely aware of how important it is to dot all the “I”s and cross all the “T”s. Milton was very well organized, but even he lost track of a few details. Thankfully, while he was in his prime and full powers, he worked with a wonderful attorney in Seattle who thought of darn near everything. The few hiccups we have encountered (one of which is still hanging fire) have been sorted out by either Chuck or his sister. The two get along beautifully and have been consistently on the same page - both prior to Dad’s passing and ever since.

But because Chuck and I have no children, the burdens of our estate will fall to other relatives. It’s one thing to plough through a mound of paperwork and legal documents on behalf of your parents. But it really is something quite different to do it for your aunt and uncle. So our goals tomorrow are twofold: One - to make sure all of our estate documents are fully up to date and reflect our wishes within the confines of the current laws of the Commonwealth; and Two - to do everything we possibly can to make the eventual settling of our estate as streamlined and automatic as possible for our executor and heirs. If there were a way for us to magically handle it for them after we have been eaten by alligators and buried, we would! But, alas, we will have to trust our brilliant, thoughtful, excellent attorney to get us as close to that wish as reality will allow!

Free Your Photos!

Was it Hewlett Packard that had the advertising campaign showing family photographs trapped on the memory card inside a camera? Epson? No matter. Back when we used our Canon SLR film camera, we would send our exposed rolls off to be developed and request the free double prints. But that was also a time when a week’s vacation might only generate 36 photos because film was expensive and developing was really expensive. The Christmas photos might share the same roll as Easter. Now, with my beloved Canon PowerShot S2 IS digital camera (and a decent sized memory card), I can snap away without limit. It’s been great for my photography skills. It’s been great for capturing life’s little moments. It’s even been great because I can view the photos anytime on my laptop or my iPod. But it wasn’t all that great for motivating me to print off photos.

Enter digital scrapbooking. Instead of printing off individual photographs, I could take a group of photos from an event, create a layout and print out one piece of paper. I could also e-mail the layout to family members so that they could download them in their computers and print them out. That’s also worked in reverse a few times, such as when a niece e-mailed some photos of her daughter’s school promotion. I was able to turn it into a simple layout and share it with the family. Because my Mom doesn’t have (and doesn’t want!) a computer, I can print layouts out for her. Which brings me to the point of this post: What’s the best paper to print on? I love “Staples Photo Supreme Double-Sided Matte Paper”. It takes the ink from our Canon and HP inkjet printers beautifully, dries quickly, cuts cleanly and has a wonderful weight. Because it is double-sided, if you goof up (and it’s destined for an album or a frame) you can get a second shot on the reverse. It also works well for postcards - 4 to a sheet - and gift tags and bookmarks! You can buy it in packages as large as 100 sheets and Staples often has it on sale or with a rebate.

I have to admit, that while it’s fun to see your photographs and layouts on the computer screen, it’s an even bigger thrill to hold them in your hands or pass them on to folks.

Cabin Fever Turns Rosy

The snow has been falling off and on since forever. O.K. Maybe it was only Thursday? Chuck ran the snowblower a couple of times. There’s a rumor the sun may come out tomorrow - but I ain’t bettin’ my bottom dollar! (Sorry Annie!) To fend off cabin fever, I have been playing in Photoshop. The whole Texture thing has continued to fascinate me. Today I chose a sky photo I took in the summertime. I converted it to black and white. Then I used it to make a piece of background paper for digital scrapbooking projects.


If you’re interested in the details, here’s what I did using Adobe Photoshop CS3 for Mac:

Created a new document 11” x 8.5” landscape.
Layer > Duplicate.
Working on the new layer, I chose a foreground color and used Paint Bucket to “pour” the color onto the layer.
I opened a photo of the sky.
Converted the sky photo to black and white using Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Black & White.
Dragged the new black and white sky photo onto the solid pink layer.
I experimented with the Blending Modes. I chose Overlay.
With the sky layer highlighted I went to Filters > Artistic > Paint Daubs.
I chose Brush Size 20, Sharpness 15, Brush Type Sparkle.
Pretty cool.
You can adjust the opacity on the color layer or the sky layer to further tweak the look.

As long as I keep the original PSD file saved in layers, I can change the color as the spirit moves me. And keep generating new variations.
So, choose Image > Duplicate.
Add COPY to the end of the file name.
You now have two layered versions of the Pink Sky open.
Flatten the COPY by choosing Layer > Flatten Image.
Now save that COPY as a JPEG.
I usually create a new folder, naming it the same as the PSD file.
Then I keep the PSD, the JPEG and the RTF all in the same folder.
This takes up valuable room on my computer, which is why I move it to an external hard drive.

Remember to save your files as you go along.
Remember to work from COPIES of your original photos.
Have fun!

Thoughts On Style

I’ve always worn my hair long. Well, except for one disastrous home “trim” my mother gave me in fourth grade, which required an emergency trip to a hairdresser for salvage work. Then I made a rash decision in the early 1980s which also involved a complete and equally disastrous dye job. Back in 1979, when I turned twenty-one, my mother told me it was time for me to get my hair cut. I was unaware of the you-must-get-a-short-haircut-at-age-twenty-one-rule and “declined”. Now I am 51, turning 52 in May. I continue to wear my hair long enough to pull it back in a braid. The older I get, the more I recognize that my female peers have short haircuts. And it seems that the older women get, the shorter their hair gets. Sitting at a large meeting several weeks ago, attended by many folks in their 70s and 80s, the vast majority of women around me had hair nearly as short as the men. No thank you.

As I grew up, my personal style was somewhere between preppie and hippie. When Midi-skirts made their appearance, I was an early adopter. As a result, some younger kids in my high school thought I was a student teacher! In college I wore farmer overalls with shitkickers, long skirts with Frye boots and business suits with pumps. As the years have gone by I now wear Birkenstocks and Smartwool striped socks whenever possible. I’m happy in quarter zip sweatshirts and henleys. I carry vintage purses by Walborg, JR and Margaret Smith or an L.L. Bean Healthy Back bag. And I always have a folding Asian fan in those purses. I wear the same gold jewelry nearly every single day, along with a mans Timex Expedition watch. But I sometimes like to add a vintage and over the top Eisenberg pin.

For many years, I have been taken with Jenny Joseph’s poem “Warning” which begins: “When I am an old woman I shall wear purple; With a red hat that doesn't go and doesn't suit me.” However, I am decidedly not taken with its commercial corruption into the Red Hat Society and their over boa-ed tea parties. Ms. Joseph’s 1961 poem deserves better than that. Written when she was 29, published when she was 42, the poem imagines the freedom of the future compared to the responsibilities of the present. It ends on a wistful note of the possibility of being just a wee bit less sober now.

It is said that as we age we become more like ourselves. O.K. But I am committed to becoming more of the better parts of myself. I wish to become braver, kinder, freer, more generous, less worried. When I look ahead - ten, twenty years and beyond - I do not wish to look in the mirror only to find I have morphed into one of those cookie cutter women I sat with at that recent meeting. No thank you. I would rather grab onto the pendulum and fling myself out to the opposite side of the spectrum, to fall in among folks who look more like this - all verve and flair and most decidedly free!


Thanks to Ricë of the Voodoo Cafe for alerting me to “Advanced Style”.

So Far So Good

It was a very quiet day at home. A hockey game was played at Fenway Park. It had a happy ending for the Boston Bruins, which even for non-hockey fans like us was pretty darned exciting. We watched a couple more episodes of “Mad Men” and continued to find them mesmerizing and creepy. A little bit of snow drifted down, but not enough to need to shovel.

True, it is just the first day, but 2010 has yet to disappoint!
;o)

Moving Along

“Out with the old; in with the new” is the way the saying goes. Spurred on by this recent blog post from Dr. Wayne Dyer and the turning of the year, we rummaged through our closets this afternoon. The result was two bags of clothes destined for donation to charity. The phrase that helps me is: “moving things along in the world”. Of course there’s always more to move along! And I both envy and fear the mantra the uber-organized have adopted of “one thing in, one thing out”. But progress in any degree is good.

May 2010 hold peace, happiness, success, laughter, contentment and good health for us all...

H1N1

Chuck and I got our H1N1 influenza shots today. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts, which had been restricting the H1N1 vaccine to high risk groups, opened it to the general public as of December 17th. I had been checking the MassPro Clinic Finder website to find a location near us, which was open to all. Fortunately, I took the advice noted on the website to : “Call any flu clinic listed in the Flu Clinic Finder BEFORE going to get a flu shot to confirm the time and date, and to see if there is any charge.” I called a couple of locations which were listed as “open to all” only to find that they were in fact restricted to town residents. But I finally located one in the North Quabbin town of Orange. The gentleman I spoke with said it was truly open to all, so we decided to drive over.

The Orange flu clinic was well organized. The Clinic Finder site had advised that “Some clinics may bill your health insurance, so please bring your health insurance card with you.” We did and spent a few minutes filling out some paperwork. Then we got in line which shuffled along quickly enough that neither of us got any reading done in the paperback books we had brought along just in case. From arrival to departure it took less than an hour. As we left, the line looked quite short.

According to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health's H1N1 Blog: “The amount of flu in the state continues to decline, however, it is important to remember that flu season typically lasts through the spring in New England. Therefore, we continue to encourage everyone to get the H1N1 vaccine and to keep practicing good health hygiene as we ring in the New Year!”

: : In addition to using the MassPro Clinic Finder you can also utilize the Flu.gov Google Map which includes commercial establishments like pharmacy chains that have the H1N1 vaccine available.

: : If you’d like to learn more about seasonal influenza, as well as the H1N1 virus, check out flu.gov. It’s a very good, user-friendly website with a wealth of information.

I Turned In My Elf Badge

The hush-hush project which had me working overtime as an elf was a success. I made a photo book for my niece and her husband of their wedding day. When Carrie and Al opened it they were both surprised and happy, which was exactly what we had hoped for. After scads of research (bordering on the obsessive!) which included familiarizing myself with their websites and Googling lots of reviews and testimonials, I settled on Blurb to work with. These days there are a number of self-publishing outfits on the web. Shutterfly seems quite popular, especially in the digital scrapbooking world. But I didn’t want to upload my photographs to their site and then work on-line. Lulu was once almost exclusively text based, but has rapidly expanded their range. MyPublisher struck me as sophisticated as well as full service and was my second choice. But I chose Blurb because their site was welcoming, easy to navigate and intuitive. Plus, I was able to download their “BookSmart” software and work on the book on my computer. They offer templates and pre-made layouts for use. You can also create your own designs and templates. Or use a combination of the two. Blurb’s “BookSmart” software was a little difficult for me to work with initially. But after a couple of false starts and a few trips to their on-line “Help” pages I got it all sorted out. I ended up using some of their templates and creating several of my own. Because the book I made was photo rich, I decided against using any of their decorative layouts.

Once Al and Carrie’s 40 page book was completed I checked and rechecked unto the nth degree. I did follow Blurb’s advice and order just one copy, even though they were running some good pre-Christmas specials. Waiting was difficult! But as soon as it arrived and Chuck and I had a chance to look at it, appreciate the quality and feel the weight of the premium paper we had requested, I went directly to the website and ordered the other copies. Happily, they were offering substantial shipping discounts. Blurb allows you to keep your book “Private” and send folks an invitation link. That flexibility was another selling point for me. Here are some wedding photo books other people have published which will give you an idea of what you can do. I already have lots of ideas for other books I would like to create. And I would definitely use Blurb again.

Snow

It began this morning as light flurries. Soon there were squalls. Then, in stillness, came the big, fluffy flakes, filling the sky and drifting down to rest delicately on every surface.

It was lovely.

Yiddish Proverb

In freydn iz a yor a tog, in leyden iz a tog a yor.
In happiness a year is like a day,
in suffering a day is like a year.


Translation and transliteration by Marvin Zuckerman and Marion Herbst from “Learning Yiddish In Easy Stages”

Revisionism

I cannot abide Holocaust deniers. I can’t tolerate contemporary revisionist history of a political nature either. Both leave me angry and incredulous. But what tears at my heart is when someone I know personally, turns on a dime and creates an entirely new version of an experience. One day an event is perceived as positive; another day the same event is described in wholly negative terms. I imagine the work involved in reweaving the memories from good to bad is substantial. And I can’t fathom the benefit one would derive from the activity. I only know it saddens me.

Charades

I used to play Charades frequently. When I was in high school and college my friends and I would play it on a regular basis - but in a very competitive manner. (I once drew “Zbigniew Brzezinski” on my turn!) For many years it was a common activity for us to do as a family at holiday get-togethers. But somehow, over the last several years, as our holiday traditions evolved and locations changed, we just stopped playing. Then yesterday, while we were celebrating Christmas at Al and Carrie’s home, Carrie suggested we play Charades after dinner. Our side of the family immediately agreed. While some members of Al’s family had never played before and needed just a wee bit of persuasion. Soon we had all gathered around the tree in the living room, divided into teams which were approximately “boys against the girls” and were jotting down the books, movies, events, people, objects and animals we wanted the opposing team to act out. The slips of paper were folded and tossed into a red bowl for one team and a yellow colander for the other and we were off.

Goodness gracious, sakes alive it was a complete blast! Because the veterans were rusty and there were lots of newbies, we dispensed with timers. No one kept score and members of the opposing team would sometimes make suggestions to the person acting out the phrase (“Hey, try “sounds like” on the first word.”). Could we have laughed any harder? Could we have screamed and clapped any louder? No and no! Sometimes all we had to do was pantomime the category, gesture the number of words and give the first clue, when a teammate would call out the correct answer. Sometimes a person could be completely flummoxed by trying to communicate a simple thing like “stone wall” - a person like me perhaps! There were a few, well, let’s call them graphic concepts acted out, while still maintaining a PG rating! Although I did find myself explaining a couple of things to my 86 year old mother which, when I woke up Christmas morn’, I had not anticipated!

It was a terrific couple of hours of pure fun which left us hoarse and happy. I have a feeling we’ll be doing this again soon!

Did You Hear Santa’s Sleigh Bells?

I just did!
And some reindeer hooves on the roof too!
Listen....

MERRY CHRISTMAS
TO ALL,
AND TO ALL
A GOOD NIGHT!

A Holiday Tradition

We attended Christmas Revels this afternoon at Harvard’s Sanders Theater in Memorial Hall in Cambridge, Massachusetts. I can’t say it was wonderful, but it was good enough that I’m glad we didn’t miss it. David Coffin was terrific as usual. And Leon Joseph Littlebird and Janice Allen both gave standout performances. Chuck enjoyed it more than I did. But the final number at the end of Part One; “The Lord Of The Dance”, was as exciting and celebratory as ever. So all in all, it was all good.

After the show, we went over to Asmara restaurant on Massachusetts Avenue, also in Cambridge. They continue to serve delicious Ethiopian and Eritrean food. The atmosphere is cozy, the service excellent and the family is always warm and friendly. Over the years we’ve eaten at four (at least) different Ethiopian restaurants in Greater Boston, but Asmara is the only one we keep coming back to. Tonight, the Boneless Chicken in a red pepper sauce was out of this world. Oh, how I wish we lived closer!

From Post To Layout

If you’re like me, and you blog, you chronicle part of your life on the internet. An easy way to make a Digital Scrapbooking layout is to begin with one of your posts. On Thanksgiving I posted a photograph which I had tweaked and changed to sepia tones. I also wrote a list of all the things that happened that day.

Here’s a screen shot of the post:
Today I turned it into a Digi-Scrap Layout.
First I created an 11” x 8.5” landscape “paper” in Photoshop CS3. (I believe everything can be done in Elements.)
I named and saved it as a PSD file.
I also created a Text Edit or Rich Text File (RTF) of the same name where I chronicle the steps of a layout or photo manipulation.
I opened the photo of Chuck and Al carving the turkey and dragged it onto the blank paper.
I sampled some browns out of the photo using the Eyedropper Tool, deepened it and, using Paint Bucket, filled the background.
I then clicked on the photo layer and chose Edit > Stroke I adjusted the color to light cream and chose about a 20 pixel width Outside. I repeated the step choosing about a 25 pixel stroke in black, also Outside.
I then copied the text from my blog post, created a new layer and pasted it in.
For the text, I chose the same cream color as the first stroke on the photo.
I broke out the final line of text and placed it on its own layer.
I did the same for the title, caption and Pink Granite credit.
Finally, I added Drop Shadows of varying degrees to the photo and the text.
I switched on View > Show > Grid and using the Move Tool and the keyboard arrow keys, I oonched the various layers of text and the photo into what I felt was a pleasing alignment.
Once I was satisfied, I saved the file - as I had been doing throughout!
I used Image > Duplicate and saved the new file with COPY at the end of the name.
On that copy, I used Layer > Flatten Image and then saved it as a JPG file.
On my computer I created a new folder called “Thanksgiving 2009” and dropped the PSD file, the RTF file and the JPG into it.
Here’s how it turned out:



Original photo, manipulation and layout by LMR/Pink Granite. Fonts: Hypatia Sans Pro from Adobe and Hans Hand from DaFont. Software: Apple iPhoto ’09 & Adobe Photoshop CS3 for Mac.

The Shortest/Longest Day

To everyone in the Northern Hemisphere

Happy Winter Solstice!

And to everyone in the Southern Hemisphere

Happy Summer Solstice!

What He Said

Thank you Charlie Pierce for writing what had been ricocheting incoherently around in my mind, about Rhode Island Congressman Patrick Kennedy and Bishop Thomas Tobin. It’s pithy and well worth the quick read.

Greetings!

The holiday cards are continuing to be delivered to our mailbox by the fine letter carriers of the United States Postal Service. Some days, if a package is also being delivered, we hear the sound of tires on gravel. Then a quick beep-beep of our letter carrier’s car horn as she zips up the driveway to make the hand off in person. Service - you can’t beat it!

Nor can you beat the holiday cards. (I say “holiday” because it begins with Thanksgiving, continues through Chanukah and into Christmas. We even received a New Year’s card once and the occasional Valentine in February. So “holiday” is an accurate term, not a salvo in the mythical “War on Christmas”!) We love opening the cards from family and friends and folks we do business with. It’s fun to be remembered, to hear from people, see how the kids have grown via photo cards and marvel at all the beauty and creativity that goes into the cards. I’ve been making greeting cards for nearly two decades so I love to see a truly beautiful one.

We even enjoy the holiday letters - well, some of them - some of the time! They seem to fall into three categories:
1. Breezy, brief updates on the family; mostly good news but even handed and not self aggrandizing.
2. We did it all, saw it all, bought it all; we’re fabulous and this letter is designed to make you green with envy.
3. Our lives suck pond water, but we shall soldier on.
Only holiday letter #1 should ever be written and mailed. Just one holiday letter recipient’s opinion...

So buy a card or make a card. Sign it, address it, stick a stamp on it and drop it into the mail. The addressee is sure to be tickled pink!

Brrrrrr...

Last year, in the wake of the ice storm, we layered the winter quilt over the summer quilt in an effort to keep our teeth from chattering in a cold, dark house. This year, an early cold snap had us buttoning up and dropping storm windows. But before we could make the switch to the winter quilt, in came the unseasonably warm weather. That was a treat and a half - especially for hanging laundry on the clothesline. It was also perfect weather for Chuck to string the LED lights up outside. But single digit temperatures over the last few days meant I had to face the reality of winter. So the big winter-weight down quilt is now on the bed. The cats are trying to adjust. When they jump up onto the bed - which was already quite tall - they are not as graceful as they normally are. They come up a bit short, then grab on and scramble up the last couple of inches. They walk gingerly, awkwardly across it, surprised that their paws continue to sink into the plentiful poofiness. Once they regain their footing (and their dignity), they curl up contentedly - and warmly.

F to G

I need to thank Chuck (BFF/Hero/Wonder Hubby). I finished designing the Christmas cards and managed to get them all printed. But it was not without a few hiccups. Each card has to be run through the printer a total of three times - cover art, inside greeting and credit on the back. I had a few cards that threatened to get hung up in the printer. No accordion-pleating jams, but it was enough to require close attention to the task. By the time I had everything printed I was not looking forward to doing the envelopes. Enter Chuck. He took over, despite my protests. Soon we were humming along with Chuck generating printed envelopes and me signing, sealing and stamping. I went from “Frazzled” to “Gratitude” in short order and the last of the cards are headed to the Post Office tomorrow.

Thank you Chuck!

Trippi’s

We were down in Rhode Island yesterday with my Mom. She had a list of errands (including Christmasy ones) she wanted to accomplish. At age 86 At age 86 (“in my 87th year”) she plum near wore us out! While we were visiting back at her condo, she asked Chuck to take a look at her coat. It is her favorite, warmest, toastiest winter coat. Unfortunately, the zipper had become so balky as to be unusable. Chuck fussed with it for a bit and improved it slightly. But it was clear that Mom would continue to be relying on the overlapping snaps as the only way to fasten it. So we offered to bring it back up to Worcester for repair.

That’s how we came to be at 1025 Main South in Worcester at Trippi’s Zipper Hospital this afternoon. We’ve been availing ourselves of their specialized skills and services for decades, so we were pretty optimistic. Chuck ran the coat in, expecting to drop it off and pick it up another day. When he showed it to the gal at the counter he asked earnestly: “Can this zipper be saved?” She examined it and set to work. Chuck popped back out to where I was waiting curbside and pantomimed that we could wait for the work to be done. Sure enough, the zipper technician was able to bring the zipper back from the dead. (There might have been a small defibrillator and I think I heard someone yell “CLEAR”!) $7.00 later we had Mom’s favorite coat back in working order. Thank you Trippi’s!

Hebrew Cemetery

On Thanksgiving Day, as I was driving down to Rhode Island, Chuck was reading the newspaper headlines to me from the passenger seat. When he read about the terrible vandalism at the Hebrew Cemetery in Worcester we were both appalled. Unfortunately, according to volunteer cemetery director Jordan Robbins, the cemetery has no money to repair the damage. The Jewish Federation of Central Massachusetts is attempting to locate relatives of the people buried there. As reported by the T & G article they include: “former Worcester Mayor Israel Katz; Dr. Herbert S. Grossman; Battle of the Bulge veteran and pharmacist Sydney S. Levine; lawyer Lawrence H. Fisher; benefactor Max Norman; Purple Heart recipient Samuel Lazerowich; Rabbi Morris Reuben Kesner and former Gardner News editor Alfred J. Abbott.”

The final part of the barucha, the blessing, said when lighting the candles for Chanukah is: “who performed wondrous deeds for our ancestors in days of old, at this season”. Perhaps you will feel moved to do a good deed, a mitzvah, for these ancestors, at this season.

Donations may be sent to:

Jewish Federation of Central Massachusetts
633 Salisbury Street
Worcester, MA 01609
Attention: Worcester Hebrew Cemetery

It Takes Two To Make Latkes!

I’ve had my Cuisinart Food Processor for about 25 years.

Tonight, I forgot how to use it.

There I was, with a pile of potatoes and some onions, all ready to whir and grate and I could not for the life of me assemble the darn thing. For twenty-five years I have been hauling it out for big tasks like coleslaw, latkes, pesto and so on. Tonight, I had to call in Chuck who rescued me. I had the lid on backwards. Even when he got it turned around and working correctly, it still looked backwards to me!

There are some tasks for which my venerable DLC-7 Super Pro (It looks a lot like this one.) is absolutely perfect. Grating the potatoes and onions for latkes is an excellent example. Hand grating would take ages and a couple of knuckles. Using a mandolin or V-slicer would also be time consuming and finger tip endangering. But the Cuisinart makes the job swift and painless.

So with my Cuisinart finished whirring and the The Barry Sisters rocking out “Their Greatest Yiddish Hits” via the iPod, I made the latkes. I still use a mixture of extra virgin olive oil and canola oil to fry them. Once both sides are brown and crispy I transfer them to parchment covered cookie sheets and put them in a 350 degree F oven to let them finish. Chuck pronounced them delish - I could not disagree!

This photo from my 2006 post shows the same pan I used tonight, but on our old stove. And tonight’s latkes were just a teensy bit smaller.

Dad

I miss my Dad.
Sometimes it just hits me out of the blue.
Today was one of those days.
Maybe it’s because Christmas is coming.
Perhaps it’s because some days the idea that I can’t talk and laugh with him seems impossibly unfair.
Or maybe it’s because I feel so lucky to have Chuck at the center of my life, I wish he and Dad could have known each other.
Whatever the reason, I miss you Dad.
Thank you for everything...


Original photo, manipulation and layout by LMR/Pink Granite. Software: Apple iPhoto ’09 & Adobe Photoshop CS3 for Mac.

Happy Chanukah!

This week turned out to be more challenging than I would have wished for. So it was good to head toward Friday knowing that things were settling down and that the weekend held candles and singing and latkes! It was especially nice to walk in through the kitchen door this evening and have all systems humming along properly. You see, one year ago today the ice storm began here in Southern New England. Looking back over the photos I posted I still find the thickness of the ice amazing. And it was so cold those first two days before we found a generator! Today has been bitterly cold (around 20F / -7C) but this L.L. Bean shirt kept me toasty warm. It may not be stylish, but I so don’t care!

One Voter’s Tweets

: : What to do on a sunny December day in Massachusetts? Head to the polls! Vote in the special US Senate Primary today!


: : Live in Massachusetts? Polls are open until 8 pm for the special US Senate Primary!


: : I voted!


: : We made our decision w/in the last 24 hours, but we feel Mike Capuano @capuano4senate has what it takes to be our next senator! #MAsen


: : Sigh... RT @NECN Coakley has been declared winner of Democratic nomination - she'll face Scott Brown in Jan 19 special election


: : Geez I know we're the kiss of death for products, I didn't realize we could mess up an election too! #MAsen

Senate Primary Tomorrow!

The United States Senate Special Election Primary is tomorrow here in Massachusetts. It may have been one of the most lackluster campaign seasons, but it is still a tremendously important election.

If you need information about the election, including your polling place, you can go to Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin’s website. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Please don’t let the campaign induced ennui keep you away from the voting booth tomorrow!


Live your values.
Love your country.
VOTE!

Two Moments

The Chanukah cards are completed and printed. It all went smoothly until I asked Chuck to pull up our holiday card lists. I needed a count for how many to make. He gave me one number and then quickly corrected himself, reducing it by one. We won’t be sending a card to his Dad this year. Nearly ten months after his passing, it still hit us both with a thud.

A few days ago, a still unfathomable family situation led us to learn much too late about the death of my aunt, the widow of one of my Dad’s brothers. During a conversation with my mother, in the midst of a cascade of emotions, Mom realized that she is now our family’s matriarch. Of four brothers who lived to adulthood and their four wives, only Mom survives and thankfully thrives. Mom is the first born of two in her family, with her younger sister alive, but in serious decline. Learning of the passing of her only remaining sister-in-law and her new uncomfortable status, hit Mom with a thud as well.

The Chanukah cards will go out in tomorrow’s mail, as will a sympathy card to my cousin. We will all continue to adjust and to grieve and to move on. We may wish to think that the holidays are the same every year. But the holidays are new every year. Every year they grow larger with memories. They are a time to celebrate and to remember. In the coming weeks, we will do both.

Elf’s Lament

With all my elf references this week the following Barenaked Ladies song has understandably been running through my mind.
Now it can be running through yours as well!
;o)

One Voter Plus Mike

Hey, I shook hands with Congressman and senate hopeful Mike Capuano today! I did not interview him (bad blogger!), but let’s see what I learned.

He smiled.
He made good eye contact.
He had a firm handshake.
He did not rush off in a rude manner, just a "I’m in a hurry and you don’t seem to be asking me any questions" sort of way.

As I wrote recently I have been wildly underwhelmed by all the candidates in this race. Have I made any progress you ask? Well, a little. As I indicated previously, I couldn’t imagine voting for either of the Republicans (Brown or Robinson). After looking at their websites,Twitter feeds and mailers to the house it’s official: I won’t be asking for a Republican Ballot on Tuesday.

That leaves me with the four Democratic candidates. Steve Pagliuca has some good, well produced ads where he says all the right things. But I just can’t shake the feeling he’s a right wing business mogul (AKA Republican) at heart. I watch the ads and I think “everyman”. But I read his bio and I think “management”. Plus, Steve needs to stop calling the house. The number of recorded calls reminds of a lovesick teenager relentlessly calling the girl he really, really likes and wants to take to the Friday Night Sock Hop.

Alan Khazei, like all the other candidates does not exude charisma. And he got some seriously bad advice about approving the “full diaper” ad. If you haven’t seen it, do not Google it. Trust me on that. But Khazei does have the citizen funded campaign going for him. And he does seem strong on the issues (i.e. willing to spell out his positions clearly - plus positions which I generally agree with).

Martha Coakley. In this very blue, generally Democratic, liberal leaning (in a schizophrenic sort of way) commonwealth that we live in, it is amazing that we have yet to elect a woman to the Senate. So if we finally did that, it would represent progress. But is Coakley the woman we want to send? I know she’s in the lead, which is surprising because she too comes off to me as blah.

As of today, I’ve actually shaken hands with Mike Capuano. In debates, Capuano comes off as a bit of a bulldog. I sensed no whiff of the bulldog today in my nanosecond exchange. Also a friend of ours pointed out that if we elect Capuano to the senate, we lose his considerable seniority in the House. But he sure does seem to have the experience and the oomph to begin to fill Teddy’s shoes.

Hmmm... I think what I really want is a Democratic candidate with the standards of Khazei, the experience of Capuano, the good political advisors of Pagliuca and the chromosomal make up of Coakley. And frankly, that’s about what it would take for anyone to begin to shrug the mantle of the “Lion of the Senate” around their shoulders.

Elf Update

I have no idea.
Seriously.
I have my fingers crossed. But I won’t know for a few weeks whether or not my hush-hush project is a success, a failure or somewhere in between. I’m a single rise yeast bread kind of gal, so waiting is not my strong suit! But wait I must.

I can say that the other two projects are that I still haven’t made our Chanukah cards, nor our Christmas cards. With Chanukah beginning at sundown next Friday night: tick tock, time’s a wastin’. Although, I suppose, that because it lasts for eight days, I have a bit of wiggle room!

By the way, it seems that Santa is technically “Management”. But the President of the “International Union of Toy Makers Extraordinaire” says he is a most beneficent employer and a congenial and accommodating negotiator. In fact, the union has essentially had a permanent contract, with steady cost of living increases, for as long as anyone can remember. Oh, and they have excellent health insurance: medical, dental and mental health. Did I mention the whole village is run on wind power and some sort of reindeer manure to methane gizmo. If the headquarters weren’t so darned close to the home state of a certain shameless ex-governor it would totally be worth relocating - snow and all!

Deputized

I’ve been wrestling with new software. It’s not Apple. It’s not Photoshop. It’s something I’ve never used before. The project is really important. But it’s very hush-hush. I can’t say any more. You see, I’ve been deputized, by Santa. Yes, I suppose that does make me an elf. Unless they’re unionized. I mean, I don’t want to be a scab. But this is just a seasonal gig... I need to talk to Santa; maybe the Head Elf as well. Wait a minute. If there’s a Head Elf, a president of the union, would that make Santa “Management”? Nah! No way!

O.K. I’ve gotta go.
I’ll be back as soon as I can wrap up this project.
And maybe one or two more...
;o)

Public Option

The healthcare and health insurance reform debate has been a long, exhausting and sometimes ugly slog. Now the United States Senate is back in the thick of it. Once again, it is time to contact your senators and the the White House to let them know you want the Public Option. More specifically, tell them you want a strong, robust, wide reaching Public Option. And, let them you know you want it A.S.A.P!

Here’s how to do it:

To Contact The White House:
Via the Internet: Click here to send an e-mail.
Via Telephone:
Comments: 202-456-1111
Switchboard: 202-456-1414
FAX: 202-456-2461
Via TTY/TDD:
Comments: 202-456-6213

Via Postal Service:
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
Via Twitter: Use the address @BarackObama and @whitehouse (both of these are verified accounts)

To Contact Your Senators:
Do you need to find the contact information for your senators? Follow this link to the U.S. Senate and use the “Find Your Senators” search box in the upper right corner of the page.

If you have questions about health insurance reform (or want to find out if a rumor is true or false) you can check the White House’s webpage called Reality Check.

And FactCheck.org remains an excellent location to parse truth from misinformation on a wide variety of topics, including the current healthcare debate.


psssst...Do Something!

Not A Player

I did not inherit the gambling gene. I’m not complaining, just noting. We met down at Foxwoods Casino today for a second Thanksgiving of sorts; a brunch with my sister Gail up from Georgia as the guest of honor. It was a blast to do the Mimosa Brunch at David Burke’s with seven of us around the table, talking, laughing, inquiring after items on each other’s plates and occasionally eating off each other’s plates as well! But playing the slots? Not so much.

Years ago I won $75.00 at Mohegan Sun and needed Chuck to help me step away from the machine before I gave it back! As he stopped at a nearby machine just to see how it worked, I grabbed him by the elbow and hurried him away. Why? I was afraid I would see someone sit down at “MY winning machine” and win even more! Today I tried the penny, 2 cent and nickel slot machines. I fed a total of $35.00 into a few machines while we were there and was delighted that I left only $14.97 cents in the casino’s coffers. It’s not that I don’t get mesmerized by the bells, whistles and flashing lights of the slots. I do. And it’s not that I wouldn’t love to slip a $5.00 bill into a machine and win so much that the attendant has to come and I need a security escort to my car. I would. Really. But the bottom line is, for me, losing is just too darned stressful.

Now you know why it is highly unlikely I’ll ever visit Las Vegas or Atlantic City!

Following The Trail

It’s not that I’m easily distracted, it’s that I become very focused on a task. Sometimes, said task, causes me to head to Google. That leads me to follow promising leads, backtrack, regroup and follow new leads - bookmarking wildly as I go. Which is how I ended up at the Library of Congress tonight, after I had begun on eBay, entering the search word: “Yiddish”. It was at the LOC where I found this graphically beautiful Works Progress Administration (WPA) poster which struck me as intensely poignant. It was published sometime between 1936 and 1941 in New York City, urging Yiddish speaking adult immigrants to attend: “Free classes in English! Learn to speak, read, & write the language of your children!” It was practical, well intentioned and even generous. But at that same moment in time, across the Atlantic, one out of every two Yiddish speakers in the world were in the process of being eliminated from the planet.

The Day After

Once upon a time, this day would have been spent shopping with my Mom. Before the malls came to Warwick, Rhode Island we would shop in downtown Providence. After the malls began sprawling nearby, we would shop there. (My father always insisted the stores moved from Providence to Warwick because Mom had relocated and the stores had to follow her!) We came prepared with lists, wore comfortable shoes and would say yes to all the fancy, sturdy, handled, shopping bags the stores readily dispensed. Once I became a teenager, Mom would periodically send me out to the car to stow our treasures. I became quite adept at shaking my head to wave off hopeful drivers looking for parking spaces. I would re-lock the car and head back in for the next round. Midday, we would stop for lunch. After ordering, we would pull out our lists, check our progress and plot out our strategy for the afternoon.

I loved every single minute of it.

But I haven’t shopped on the day after Thanksgiving in ages. Nor have I darkened the doorway of a mall on the day after Christmas in years and years. Neither has my Mom. For us it was part of era. A 1950s, ‘60s and ‘70s solidly middle class consumerism, which was emblematic of security, celebration and freedom. It was also all tied up in an odd corruption of the Magi and their gifts; laden with religious overtones and being good for Santa Claus; transmogrified into a pile of brightly wrapped presents under an exquisite, twinkling, artificial tree.

I loved every single minute of it.

Thanksgiving

Chuck and Al carving the turkey

There was hugging, cooking, laughing, uncorking, talking, stirring, pouring, basting, drinking, mashing, explaining, mixing, tasting, checking, photographing, oohing, aahing, discussing, improvising, carving, serving, herding, toasting, remembering, eating, watching, laughing, crying, hugging, goodbyeing.

It was all good.

For all of this, and more, I am thankful.

For You

It began life as ornamental kale in a garden bed in Bar Harbor, Maine.
But I wanted to turn it into a corsage; a boutonniere, for you.
Thank you for reading and joining in Pink Granite for the last three years!

Layout by LMR/Pink Granite. Software: Apple iPhoto ’09 & Adobe Photoshop CS3 for Mac.

It Started With A Baseball Cap

Yesterday we drove out to the National Yiddish Book Center in Amherst, Massachusetts. It was a powerful, fascinating, wonderful experience. We have known about the Center and have been meaning to go for a long time. But it was a chance meeting that finally got us off the dime. We had stopped by Wild Willy’s in Worcester for a quick meal last week. I noticed a man in the next booth wearing a Boston Red Sox baseball cap. Here in “Red Sox Nation” that’s anything but unusual. Except in this instance “Red Sox” was written in Yiddish! I pointed it out to Chuck who approached the gentleman and asked where he had gotten the cap. He smiled, said the National Yiddish Book Center and asked if we had been there. When Chuck said no, not yet, the gentleman said “You’ve got to go.” But it wasn’t an off-hand remark. He said it in such a sincere, intense and thoughtful way, it struck as quite remarkable. As soon as we got home we looked up the center, found the hat and spent quite a bit of time exploring the website. The more we read and the more we thought about the gentleman’s advice, we knew we had to go as soon as possible.

The National Yiddish Book Center is located on the campus of Hampshire College. It’s a beautiful wooden building both outside and in. On a less rainy day, the gardens and grounds will deserve exploration. From a visitor standpoint, we had the place pretty much to ourselves. We followed the easily self guided tour of what is a cross between a museum, a library and a cultural inheritance. We watched a brief video which explained how the Center came to exist. It all began around 1980 when Aaron Lansky was studying Yiddish. But he couldn’t find enough books. He posted a few signs around his neighborhood and soon elderly Jews were contacting him, delighted by his interest and relieved to pass the books on to someone who would value them; treasure them as much as they did.

During World War II, one of every two Yiddish speakers in the world was killed. Countless volumes of Yiddish books were destroyed. Hebrew was the language of scholars and religious services, but Yiddish was the language of the home and commerce. Beyond the staggering human toll, to lose half of the speakers of a language was a huge blow to the thousand year old shared culture of Jews in every corner of the globe. It was especially wrenching after the time between the wars when Yiddish literature had flourished. When the State of Israel was established, Hebrew, not Yiddish was made the national language. This hotly contested decision dealt a further blow to the language. So by the time a young student in his twenties was studying Yiddish in the 1970s, nearly all the books were out of print and many thought it a dead or surely dying language.

Aaron Lansky’s book “Outwitting History” (Also available here) chronicles how the collection grew from a few boxes of Yiddish books to over 1.5 million at the center today. Please don’t be intimidated if you don’t read Yiddish in the original or if you don’t speak Yiddish. Because most visitors are in the same situation, the center is full of English language, bilingual and transliterated signs and exhibits. Their goal is to open Yiddish back up to the world. All are made welcome and admission is free.

We all know and use lots of Yiddish words: bagel, goy, schlep, nosh, kvetch, chutzpah, feh!, klutz, oy vey!, shmaltz, latke, lox, shmuck, yente, shtick, maven, dreidel... just to name a few. Visiting the National Yiddish Book Center provides a history, a context and a greater depth of meaning to why Yiddish words, books and music remain vital today. It also sparks a determination not only to protect the past, but to encourage a Yiddish renaissance.

It’s Not Just Me

Regarding my post from the other day, “One Voter”, turns out I am not the only undecided voter here in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. According to the Boston Globe: “Coakley Leads, But Electorate Unsettled”. Subtitle reads: “In Globe poll, 50 percent remain undecided; Capuano running 2nd, but far behind AG [Attorney General Coakley]” .

On the one hand, I’m glad I’m not alone. But on the other hand, what does it say about this particular crop of candidates, that, as a community, we are so undecided; so uninspired?

Forgotten - Not Gone!

We’ve been enjoying this season’s new ABC series “The Forgotten” starring Christian Slater. Being the kiss of death, we’ve been worried the powers that be at ABC wouldn’t give it enough time to catch on and establish an audience. Chuck learned today that they have ordered five new episodes. Yes!

The premise is that a group of volunteers work with police on cold cases to try to identify the bodies of Jane and John Doe homicide victims. The show always captures our attention, holds our interest, isn’t excessively grisly and doesn’t telegraph the ending in the first two minutes! Is it perfect? No, but it’s very good. (And whoever is shooting their aerial shots of Chicago deserves applause.) ABC seems to like broadcasting clips from their shows, but, despite banners to the contrary, I couldn’t find full episodes on their site. The next episode of “The Forgotten” is scheduled to be broadcast on Tuesday, December 1, 2009. Mark your calendars...

One Voter

I liked Ted Kennedy. I liked him a lot. I respected the work he did in the Senate. I admired the way he wore the label “Liberal” proudly. I mourned his passing. I was satisfied with the appointment of Paul Kirk as our interim senator. But I cannot get excited about this senatorial special election. Perhaps worse still, I haven’t made up my mind about who to vote for. And the primary is on Tuesday, December 8, 2009!

Here are the candidates webpages:
Scott P. Brown - R
Michael E. Capuano - D
Martha Coakley - D
Alan A. Khazei - D
Stephen G. Pagliuca - D
Jack E. Robinson - R

Here are the candidates Twitter pages:
Scott P. Brown, R
Michael E. Capuano - D
Martha Coakley - D
Alan A. Khazei - D
Stephen G. Pagliuca - D
Jack E. Robinson - R
Some of their Tweets are quite interesting!

Two Boston Globe reports on the candidates federal financial disclosure forms caught my attention:
Senate Candidates Disclose Assets
and the follow up
Coakley Admits To Federal Filing Error

I’ve seen lots of television advertisements for the four Democrats, but so far none for the two Republicans. Truthfully, even though I’m still a lower case “i” registered independent, I am a progressive, so I can’t imagine voting for either of the Republicans. I know tons of money is being spent on this campaign, but so far, for this voter, not only is the steak hard to find, there isn’t even very much sizzle.

I think I’d like a chart that states the six candidates positions on a list of key issues.

Geezalu! Even that sounds boring as sin!

Anyone have any thoughts or recommendations?

Hellooooo?

A rose hip along the Shore Path in Bar Harbor
Beauty and promise amid the thorns and the fading leaves


How did it get to be Thursday?
Tuesday was spent to and fro and in Rhode Island with my Mom - out to lunch, grocery shopping and other errands with her.
Wednesday was one project after another inside the house - laundry, cleaning, sorting/tossing/recycling, number crunching and spreadsheet making.
Today was one project after another outside the house - yardwork in this unseasonably warm weather. Plus Chuck cleaned the gutters and got half the holiday lights up. (No they are not on yet!)
Apparently that’s how it got to be Thursday.
And next Thursday is Thanksgiving?
Already?

Time to stop and smell the roses - or, at the very least, admire the rose hips...