tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-78967240131245221652024-10-24T03:33:32.147-07:00Debohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15368577226911831548noreply@blogger.comBlogger93125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7896724013124522165.post-26650622487494497282010-06-10T11:41:00.000-07:002010-06-10T11:53:32.047-07:00

Flashing lights. Halos. Eyes blinded by imaginary floating amoeba. A vise wrapped round my head, squeezing it like I would a wet rag. The revulsion of food. The curse of light. And a drowsy kitten on my stomach making life bearable.

Debohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15368577226911831548noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7896724013124522165.post-42196750281212897672010-05-18T13:05:00.000-07:002010-05-18T13:10:46.559-07:00

The Lutheran minister down the street from us sends out a lovely newsletter. Today's held two selections of scripture that really rang for me today.The Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be

Debohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15368577226911831548noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7896724013124522165.post-7415425623534095502010-05-13T12:47:00.000-07:002010-05-13T14:26:28.801-07:00

A couple months ago, my daughter and I took a ferry ride to Bainbridge Island. It was a Spring Break mini-vacations, a daytrip to our favorite fabric store (Esther's) and one of our favorite yarn shops (Churchmouse Yarns). The Blackbird Bakery lies between the two for an excellent, quick lunch and gloriously, tasty baked goods. We began at the cafe and moved along to the yarn shop, ogling the

Debohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15368577226911831548noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7896724013124522165.post-6064140116702574292010-04-08T20:46:00.001-07:002010-04-08T20:52:22.975-07:00

Having come down with a cold sometime on Sunday late night/ Monday morning, I have rubbed my nose to the cartilage. I can no longer tell whether my eyes water because of the cold itself or from the needle-sharp pain searing my nose whenever I wipe it.

Debohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15368577226911831548noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7896724013124522165.post-10345469913091807242010-04-08T09:35:00.000-07:002010-04-08T09:58:02.359-07:00

The cat has set out on a sailing adventure on Lake Washington. She has cat food wrapped in one of my nicer silk scarves (the wretch). She drags behind her a cat-sized skiff made of scrap wood, with a limb mast and pillow case sail. The skiff also serves as a conveyer of the silk-wrapped food. She seems to have thought this through.With a mournful, scornful look over her shoulder, she sets off

Debohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15368577226911831548noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7896724013124522165.post-21642502224406675062010-03-26T10:39:00.000-07:002010-03-26T11:14:56.529-07:00

Gratitude.Yesterday my cousin asked a group of her friends on Facebook if they experienced common courtesy anymore and to expound upon that experience. There were a couple of negative responses that, to me, didn't really respond to the question she had asked. The responses reminded me of what "grown-ups" sounded like to me when I was a child: rather general, without thoughtful contemplation,

Debohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15368577226911831548noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7896724013124522165.post-83550981941195441402009-04-27T12:14:00.000-07:002009-04-27T12:59:13.457-07:00

Today has offered a challenge. How to cope with viciousness, racism, misogyny, and violence inflicted with hate and persistence in a public venue with witnesses who stood silent, stony, and without acknowledgment of my existence, the man's, or his threats.It rubbed an old nerve raw. It resurrected feelings of victimization. I shrugged it off as nonsense. And I questioned my powers of

Debohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15368577226911831548noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7896724013124522165.post-55050040112918460312009-04-21T14:36:00.000-07:002009-04-21T14:54:41.013-07:00

A friend recently posted a link to an NPR piece on the "No 'Poo" movement. The report focused on folks who were going without shampoo for ecological reasons: plastic bottles, chemicals that if ingested would be considered poisons, water purity. The people who follow the movement often site that our hair is like animal pelts and does not need shampoo to be clean. I've read some who say the use

Debohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15368577226911831548noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7896724013124522165.post-57789443818819645722009-04-17T09:45:00.000-07:002009-04-17T09:56:46.720-07:00

gods and saints don't like mecause I spit my shame into the wineThought that's where the guilty thoughts wentwhen the deeds won't stay behindSo I confess to anyone who doesn't listen anywayGonna break the record for obsession and toss the hand grenadeDon't taunt me into battle with my rough and bloody handsThe stains of my communion with the other side of HellI expect my life to lead me straight

Debohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15368577226911831548noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7896724013124522165.post-84602552988470247732009-04-16T21:13:00.000-07:002009-04-16T21:33:58.584-07:00

I'm outta here. I'm on my way. Ain't gonna look back. Gonna get away. Don't care if it rhymes. Don't care if it's brilliant. I can't stand my own skin. Don't want to be in it. Time to check out. Time to check out. Time. To.Do we scream until we're speechless; then smile and walk away? Do we whisper vapor smiles that fade before our lips move? Would we know the difference? I. Can't.

Debohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15368577226911831548noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7896724013124522165.post-39889813793215879792009-01-09T14:45:00.000-08:002009-01-09T14:47:23.800-08:00

Did I pay the moorage fees for life on Earth? Today I drift.

Debohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15368577226911831548noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7896724013124522165.post-46770180169236442642008-12-19T06:53:00.000-08:002008-12-19T07:00:47.050-08:00

We're on our third snow day. The family sleeps while I enjoy the quiet. Yesterday we had a snowball fight, made snow angels, took pictures, ate snow cream, baked homemade cinnamon rolls, walked and slided through the streets of snow, played a ruthless game of Sorry, and started a snowman. The only must-do left for today is to finish the snowman. We saw three teenagers snowboarding down our

Debohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15368577226911831548noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7896724013124522165.post-32486941854594614302008-12-03T10:55:00.000-08:002008-12-03T10:57:47.372-08:00

Debohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15368577226911831548noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7896724013124522165.post-73639046723559868002008-12-01T11:48:00.000-08:002008-12-01T11:50:30.007-08:00

How is it they run up one against another in a seamless stream of take down, clean, store, take out, set up, repeat? Add in work, errands, quiet time, other responsibilities, and our lives seem seed-beaded together into a necklace of celebrations and the work feeding into them.

Debohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15368577226911831548noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7896724013124522165.post-22446440355190274312008-11-23T09:24:00.001-08:002008-11-23T09:43:14.094-08:00

How do we cope with the day in day out of living with someone else's chronic, acute pain? When you wear too tight clothing, it rubs somewhere. You chafe or blister or walk funny. You take it off and feel better. You lose weight and feel better. There's a solution one way or the other.But you can't take off some pain, and you almost surely can't take off someone else's. If you don't care for

Debohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15368577226911831548noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7896724013124522165.post-17123769224964644232008-11-08T21:14:00.000-08:002008-11-08T21:31:56.086-08:00

Lulu Mouse globetrotted for a crowd of kids at the Mount Baker Community Center. Lulu and her friend learned a little about the British Isles, Japan, and Mexico, introduced the kids to folk costumes and dances from these places. The children got to participate in some of the dances. Pretty fun all around. The drawback for the forum seems parents at the back of the room talking constantly and

Debohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15368577226911831548noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7896724013124522165.post-18706094816772653742008-11-07T10:13:00.000-08:002008-11-07T10:28:18.009-08:00

A pause from the election chatter to ponder miracles, giving up, restoration, the unexpected.This morning during the drudgery of cleaning the cat box in the basement, I noticed something small moving toward me, something coming from behind the ironing board and the cat litter bucket, something with a very sweet face and very bright eyes: our hamster Piknecon (pronounced pinecone). Startled and

Debohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15368577226911831548noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7896724013124522165.post-28450457644317677462008-11-06T11:29:00.001-08:002008-11-06T11:53:53.774-08:00

Yesterday, I sent emails to some family members asking what the election meant to them based on their life experiences. They have all agreed to sit and write it out so that I can archive it for future family members. Today I'll share one of my memories, the one that popped to mind most prominently as Barack O'bama gave his speech Tuesday night. Vividly, the image of a young, black man, a boy

Debohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15368577226911831548noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7896724013124522165.post-10887888941186669802008-11-04T10:20:00.000-08:002008-11-04T10:22:53.386-08:00

The sabbatical ends today. I voted. It counted. Will my preferred candidates and measures win? Stay tuned. Thank you 19th Amendment.

Debohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15368577226911831548noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7896724013124522165.post-50700760911202541832008-03-22T17:59:00.001-07:002008-03-22T17:59:42.082-07:00

We wrapped the eggs in squares of silk; then white cotton, and twist- tied them. Next we put them in an enameled pan, covered them with water, and brought to a boil. As soon as it boiled, we lowered it to simmer for 20 minutes. We took them out of the pot but left them in the wrapping till they cooled. When we untied them this is what we got.

Debohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15368577226911831548noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7896724013124522165.post-11461519473863696012008-03-19T14:55:00.000-07:002008-03-19T14:57:57.912-07:00

"I would rather do art than watch someone else do it." (my daughter in response to Frank saying, "I enjoy watching you do art.")

Debohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15368577226911831548noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7896724013124522165.post-1044110117183354972008-03-18T12:59:00.000-07:002008-03-18T13:31:19.785-07:00

We woke to a tantrum. Not mine. But I wonder how much my sleeplessness for the last couple of nights has affected my daughter, the one who threw the tantrum. She's not tantrum prone, and the chanting that went along with it was near primal.The news Sunday of the Fed's bailing out Bear Stearns by loaning it money and taking mortgages (which is what got Bear Stearns into trouble to begin with)

Debohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15368577226911831548noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7896724013124522165.post-3910731360399007332008-03-12T09:23:00.000-07:002008-03-12T09:42:15.276-07:00

Lake Washington glows a soft warm yellow that radiates up and wraps the island hills. The trees reflect as foggy spikes or poles for underwater piers. A finger smudges the scene sketched in soft charcoal misty grays. If you listen, you can hear the finger stroke the paper. Inner fire alight beneath milky Irish skin, expectant mother watching over, smiling upon, embracing in silent joy.

Debohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15368577226911831548noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7896724013124522165.post-6441422787544477392008-03-07T20:44:00.000-08:002008-03-10T12:45:06.077-07:00

If you enjoy Constitutional issues, namely topics of free speech and the Establishment Clause, read this article in the New York Times. Who knew painting a word on a church roof far from anywhere could cause such a stir? Fascinating.

Debohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15368577226911831548noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7896724013124522165.post-14758997498603492122008-03-06T08:59:00.000-08:002008-03-06T09:56:58.462-08:00

If you haven't seen the Pew Center research report detailing findings that America now incarcerates 1 in 100 of its citizens, then read it here. My how we have fallen. I look at our daughter's elementary school, Dearborn Park, here in the south end of Seattle and then at its polar-opposite, Lawton Elementary in the lovely, wealthy Queen Anne neighborhood of schools. Dearborn Park ranks on the

Debohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15368577226911831548noreply@blogger.com0