quondam quiescence

Some completed projects and a few days closer....

2011-01-19T18:40:00.008-05:00

to retirement. I have a dust mop that uses replaceable cloths. Serendipitously I ran across a crocheted pattern for a washable, reusable, greener cotton cloth and here it is in all its glory.

I also found another interesting dishcloth pattern, harmonic mosaic, to try knitting. It looks harder to knit than it really is. It is also a very peaceful pattern while knitting and to gaze upon later. I hope you agree.

Last, but not least, are our two pets, Zeke (the basset nose) and Zach indulging their curiousity and getting in the way of my picture taking.

Thoughts of retirement (and crafts)

2011-01-16T14:25:00.004-05:00

I've been to see the New York State Retirement advisor and am planning to be retired on 4/30/11. My last day of work will be April Fool's Day!!! As of today I have 38 days left to work as I've piled up so much vacation time over the years.

So, I'm blogging about up and coming retirement and what I'll be doing. Here's a sample: crocheted Sylvan Star cloths. They were made in response to the Ravelry.com K/Cal project for January. (K=Knit and C=Crochet, al=along.) I'm looking forward to completing many unfinished projects and taking on some new ones and I'll let you know how it goes.

Waffle knit dishcloths

2009-07-07T21:20:00.001-04:00

Waffle knit dishcloths
Originally uploaded by lavaughn

My mother-in-law had seen my first effort at a knitted dishcloth and admired it. She said she had had some many years ago that had worn like iron. As her 82nd birthday was coming up on July 5th, I rushed into production, taking the July KAL as my guide. I picked up another cone of yarn (Peaches & Creme shaded brown) as well as a small gold ball and decided to use them with my natural colored yarn. I finished them in time for her birthday and earned a big hug and a smile.

More progress on a new project

2009-06-26T20:09:00.008-04:00

Having finished both shrugs, I decided to try something a little different - a tank top in deep plum. I'm using Caron Simply Soft Eco, "helping to save our planet one stitch at a time." The label states that "NatureSpun is a high-quality polyester fiber made from 100% post-consumer recycled plastic bottles." I've never worn a bottle before. LOL! Tonight I made it to the neck decrease as you can see in the 2nd photo.I might have been a little further along, except I got invited to join a lovely forum on Ravelry known as Dishcloths R Us. I had absolutely no idea that so many people knit so many different dishcloths. Here's my very first venture, a pattern known as Grandmother's Favorite.It knit up quite quickly and gave me a sense of accomplishment that might hold me until I finish the tank top.

Shrug 2 completed... onward to my third project!

2009-06-18T12:14:00.007-04:00

I'm here to report back that I've completed my second shrug. It took just over a month of steady knitting during the PBS Newshour and an occasional podcast. I had a terrible time understanding what the directions called for in the collar. I must have picked up stitches, knit and ripped out 3-4 times before deciding to just do what seemed best to me. I'm much happier with this shrug than my first. It fits much better and feels much softer than the first. I can wear it over so many outfits because it is white. I've received many compliments on it and several people said they thought it was store bought.

So, I'm on to my next knitting project: a tank top knit in rib stitch in plum out of Caron Simply Soft Eco. A small percentage of the yarn is actually made from recycled material(more specifically, 80% acrylic, 20% nature spun post-consumer recycled polyester; each skein is made with 0.6 recycled plastic bottles.) Hard to believe when it feels so soft. I'll let you know how this project develops, so stay tuned! Here's a link to the pattern, if you're interested.

Project completed!

2009-05-17T18:07:00.013-04:00

Here's a picture of my first completed shrug (flash and all.) It's a bit heavier than I thought it would be, but it's done. My stitches are regular - the stockinette stitch is easy - simply knit one row and purl the rest. The first part of the week is supposed to be somewhat chilly, so maybe I'll wear it to work. Here's the picture that inspired me to knit the shrug: She's SOOOO much more photogenic than I ever thought of being!

I began my next project, another shrug, on May 12th. Here's a link to the pattern site www.canandianliving.com and a picture showing my progress to date:

Re-igniting an old interest

2009-05-14T12:10:00.000-04:00

I'd been to one of my favorite websites, the Pioneer Library System, and downloaded the audiobook, The Friday Night Knitting Club. It was a very engaging book, so much so that I found myself picking my knitting needles back up and starting a project.

Then, being me, I simply had to roam the world wide web to see what had transpired in knitting during the intervening years. Whoa!!! What a plethora of patterns are available, some for free, some not. And the types of yarn that are now available to order simply by clicking a few keys. (I grew up using Red Heart knitting worsted that I bought at the Wolcott Bargain Center.) This is a whole new world of wool with access to yarns I had not been aware of. And the materials they now use to make knitting needles - it boggles the brain. I saw lovely handcrafted rosewood needles and some that seemed to be made of glass. And the websites that are devoted to knitting - a Google search pulls up 20,900,000 that are currently indexed and available.

I've located an excellent site, Ravelry - A knit and crochet community. It not only has searchable patterns, but it functions as a living community with forums, groups and a place to share the project that you're currently working on. I'm a neophyte there, but I did see that what I blog about here can appear there. So, I'm once again inspired to blog.

On becoming a Squidoo lensmaster

2008-11-28T09:17:00.006-05:00

No, I'm not one yet, but I have created my first lens at Squidoo.com. Translated into English that means that I've created a web page on a special topic, in this case it's about our basset hound, Zeke. The website can be found here.

Squidoo gives you a forum to share on topics that you're passionate about. Because Google ads appear on each Squidoo page, a little bit of money is generated each time someone visits the site. That money can be deposited into your checking account or donated to whatever charity you'd like. I'm the only one that's looked at my site to date so I'm not getting rich anytime soon!

I found a widget

2008-02-28T11:23:00.007-05:00

Maplight.org has a configurable widget that tracks donations to Presidential candidates and graphs them on your web site. Let's see if I can insert the proper code (exciting stuff for neo-geeks)!

Presidential Money Race Widget

OK, I must not be understanding something. I can't get the object to embed correctly. This is a work in progress.

Later that night: I went back to the website and saw that they had changed the embed code. Let's try again:

Eureka! Success!

Check out MyLiveSignature

2008-02-25T12:09:00.004-05:00

I found a new site that allows you to quasi-replicate your own signature on blogs, websites and emails. I'm trying it out here.

Ok! Ok! So my signature is actually a great deal sloppier! MyLiveSignature.com asks you to type in the name or nickname you want to use. You then get to choose from 120 computer generated "fonts"; you also get to choose a size, the "ink" color and the slant of your "signature". Here's my first name:

Wow! After perusing the website for awhile, I learned that my options include the signature wizard (as noted above)or scanning my own signature to send to the site for a real live person to hand code (for some money). Who'd have thought there was a market for signatures?

Fora.TV - a favorite of mine.

2008-02-14T16:29:00.000-05:00

What exactly is Fora.TV? From the official website:

"There are brilliant ideas, expressed everyday in public discussions and events, all over the world."

"Don't miss them."

"FORA.tv delivers discourse, discussions and debates on the world's most interesting political, social and cultural issues, and enables viewers to join the conversation. It provides deep, unfiltered content, tools for self-expression and a place for the interactive community to gather online."

Fora TV now has myFora available in beta. Try it out by clicking on the program below.

View Ten Discoveries that Rewrote History on FORA.tv

The words for today are....

2007-12-04T16:32:00.000-05:00

Fallow (from Dictionary.com: not in use; inactive: My creative energies have lain fallow this year.) and Fecund (from Dictionary.com: very productive or creative intellectually: the fecund years of the Italian Renaissance).

To my mind these words are directly related, as in: During the period of time from my last posting - October 11th - to date, my mind and body appear to have lain Fallow, but are now entering another Fecund period. I believe I needed a rest to recuperate from the rigorous regimen I had set myself. Today it just felt right to pop in Leslie Sanzone's 1 mile walk DVD and get in 15 minutes of aerobic walking. It could also have been because I took off early from work (due to a threatened snowstorm and whiteout) and found myself with extra time and extra energy. ;->

Here's a site for you. If you're like me, you revel in both words and augmenting your vocabulary. Check out FreeRice.com and you'll have the joy of tweaking your terminology while donating free rice to a good cause. FreeRice has two goals:
1. Provide English vocabulary to everyone for free.
2. Help end world hunger by providing rice to hungry people for free.

What if just knowing what a word meant could help feed hungry people around the world. Well, at Free Rice it does... the totals have grown exponentially." - The Washington Post

Try it and feel good about yourself!

Today's big literary news

2007-10-11T19:59:00.000-04:00

Doris Lessing won the Nobel prize in literature. Soon to turn 88 years of age, she has written dozens of works of fiction, short stories, an autobiography and some science fiction over the past 40 years. I learned that she never finished high school and had educated herself through voracious reading. Today's papers said she was born in Persia, raised in Rhodesia and is currently living in London. Her fascinating biographical background is said to feature in many of her works.

How is it that I, another voracious reader, with a major in comparative european literature, had never heard of her until tonight's PBS Newshour report? I'm grateful to have finally learned of her work and to now have a whole new literary persona to discover and digest in detail. Her wikipedia entry can be found here.

Some of what I've been up to...

2007-10-10T19:53:00.001-04:00

My husband and I attended the Gathering of Mustangs & Legends (World War II warbirds) at Rickenbacker airfield the last weekend of September, flying our Cherokee 180 over several states. The picture accompanying this item is just one of the lovely views from above.

There were 81 P-51 mustangs at the show along with B-17 bombers, a Lancaster, numerous P-38s and the airforce's current crop of F-15s, F-16s and an F-22.

The exciting part for me was beginning to learn to read (ie interpret) the Detroit sectional aeronautical chart. You have no idea how much information can be crammed into how little space until you've seen a sectional. I learned how to look for obstructions such as towers, hang gliders and parachute jumping areas. I was able to spot power transmission lines, roads and railroads and became a bit more proficient at finding the various airports' unicom and AWOS/ASOS radio frequencies for my pilot/husband.

Here is what the view from my side of the plane looks like when coming in for a landing - yes, that is the runway below. And a very espensive GPS to keep the plane on track is on its left.

As far as exercising body/mind and spirt, believe me, we walked for miles at Rickenbacker airfield!!! I was more than glad to finally sit down and watch the acrobatic pilots. It was a wonderful weekend to be outdoors in the 80 degree sunshine - nature can be very spiritual. And I more than exercised my mind with airport radio frequencies, elevations and reading sectionals.

Amusing Musings

2007-09-28T11:19:00.000-04:00

When I went to Chautauqua for the week and ended up with a severe upper respiratory infection, I never did get back into my physical exercise program. The amusing part? Last week, Solutions for Wellness sent me a congratulatory certificate of completion of their wellness program!

I still walk whenever I can and try to eat right. I've signed up for a 30 day e-course with Thich Nhat Hahn. And, I've loaded up my library book bags. I'm keeping tabs on my virtual bookshelf at Facebook. So far I can remember reading 1,525 books, am currently reading 5 books and want to read 296 more. Check out my Facebook page to see the specifics.

More musings....

2007-09-13T21:30:00.000-04:00

I'm still not completely back to normal healthwise. My physical exercise program reflects that. Yesterday I walked our basset hound Zeke for almost 30 minutes. (Well, it was more pausing and snuffing that continuous walking, but it still counts.) Today I walked back to my main agency building and returned to the jail - at least 20 minutes of walking. (This doesn't count today's grocery shopping; that's walking and a bit of strength training since Bob's Big M insists on overloading the cloth bags I bring in rather than contribute to the plethora of plastic bags covering the earth.)

I watched the PBS rebroadcast of a 1986 performance of the Elixar of Love by Donizetti, featuring Luciano Pavaoatti in his prime. Even with the older video sound track and my non-enhanced bedroom television, it was very apparent that he could really sing. The notes appear to cascade from him effortlessly. He will be missed.

I serendipitously found a new spirituality website: SpiritualityandPractice.com. Although one of the courses with Thich Nhat Hahn offically began on September 10th, I signed up for the full forty day e-retreat. I already have a gatha to use on a daily basis, borrowed from one of the other sharers of the spiritual journey: "Chopping wood, drawing water. Walking with a mind of listening."

Amused at my musings...

2007-09-05T15:39:00.001-04:00

or, a peek at my personal preoccupations:

I decided to segue slowly into another attempt at Week 8 of the Solutions for Wellness exercise program. Last night I took our basset, Zeke, for a 20 minute walk, well - it was more a 20 minute stop and snuff, but you get the idea. Tonight I went for another walk with Zeke, who almost took me off my feet when he spotted a predatory rabbit. That meant I got both aerobic and strength exercising at the same time!

I can't get into my Facebook virtual bookshelf to update the books I have finished and those I am currently reading. I'm continuing to listen to A Crack in the Edge of the World by Simon Winchester and have found it to be extremely interesting. It's been slower going for Einstein: His Life and Universe by Walter Isaacson.

I'm giving some thought to doing a daily gratitude list as a spiritual practice. I wonder what would happen if I googled "gratitude list"? (Wow! displaying the results for 1 through 10 of approximately 2,270,000 pages!!)

Starting over, again.

2007-09-04T15:25:00.000-04:00

Musings: Well, I now know what it takes to knock me off the exercise horse (so to speak). I was managing to stay active and exercise even while on vacation at Chautauqua, but when I came down with a bad upper respiratory virus while half-way through my week's vacation, I found myself taking it easy, resting, drinking plenty of fluids and no longer exercising. I'm still battling the lingering effects of the tenacious bug and have yet to begin exercising again. Housecleaning and going to work seemed more than enough to do.

Even though I did not continue with physical exercise, I did continue to exercise my mind and spirit. I read several books and listened to numerous podcasts of dharma talks. I did metta meditation and, once, having been inspired by Dr. Dharma Singh Kahlsa at Chautauqua, I found myself listening to a meditation (in song), Ek Onkar, Sat Nam, Siri Wahe Guru. I decided to galvanize myself and start blogging again, even though I'm not back at 100% yet.

For the mind: I'm listening to A Crack in the Edge of the World by Simon Winchester seemingly about the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, but actually an education in the advances of geology, plate techtonics, etc.

For the spirit: While surfing the web, I came across the following item from Buddhanet.net

The Game of Janken (Scissors, Paper, Rock)

Janken is perhaps the most popular game which the Japanese, young and old, play when deciding a trivial issue. It is played by thrusting forth the right hand simultaneously with the other player and extending or curling the fingers and thumb to represent the shape of scissors, paper, or rock. Scissors defeat paper because a pair of scissors can cut paper; rock beats scissors because scissors cannot cut rock; and paper defeats rock because it can be wrapped around a rock. This game conveys the profound Buddhist teaching of interdependence and relativeness.

I had no idea that this game had a Japanese ancestry nor did I even suspect it to be an explanation of the interdependence of Buddhism.

Week 8, Day 3

2007-08-21T20:13:00.000-04:00

[What's this whole Week/Day thing about? Please see my original posting Starting an Exercise Program (again)].

I'm still on vacation at Chautauqua, where it's been very rainy and damp. Hoping for better weather tomorrow.

For the body:
One walks everywhere in Chautauqua. Tonight my pedometer shows 6714 steps.

For the mind:
I attended several lectures today, the most intriging being given by Dharma Singh Khalsa, MD dealing wih scientifically proven ways to reverse brain aging and improve memory using age-old yogic techniques that have unexpected hormonal benefits. Anything that can stave off the ravages of Alzheimer's is worth investigating further and it just so happens that I bought his book, Meditation as Medicine: activate the power of your natural healing force.

For the spirit:
I attended a dharma talk by Roshi Bodhin Kjolhede of the Rochester Zen Center and I'm considering trying to get up for a morning meditation session with him at 7:15 tomorrow. I also walked the Chautauqua labyrinth tonight.

Week 8, Days 1 & 2

2007-08-20T20:17:00.000-04:00

[What's this whole Week/Day thing about? Please see my original posting Starting an Exercise Program (again)].

I've been on vacation at the Chautauqua Institution since Saturday. I'm eating very healthy: spinach salads, oat bread ham sandwiches, granola and low fat milk and I'm walking alot to get to the various lectures and symphonies. No formal exericse program, though.

For the body:
Plenty of fresh air, walking and good food.

For the mind:
I attended a lecture entitled "Critical Condition: How Health Care in America Became Big Business and Bad Medicine" by authors Donald Barlett and James Steele. I also picked up two books at the Chautauqua library: S is for Silence, a mystery by Sue Grafton and Heart Like Water: surviving Katrina and life in its diaster zone.

For the spirit:
20 minutes of mindfulness meditation each night.

Week 7, Day 6 & 7

2007-08-19T08:23:00.000-04:00

[What's this whole Week/Day thing about? Please see my original posting Starting an Exercise Program (again)].

Musings: Friday was busy as well, with the additional sad pleasure of taking my student intern, Rachel, out for a farewell luncheon. Saturday was mostly spent being on the Thruway to get to the Chautauqua Institution, so my exercise was abbreviated.

For the body:
On Friday I walked to Wayne Behavioral Health Network to drop off my timesheet for the next week while I would be on vacation. That was approximately 30 mintes of walking. On Satuday, I wore the Eli Lilly pedometer and walked 10,360 steps. (After you unload your car at the Chautauqua institution, you take it off grounds to park for the week. There's little or no motor traffic here. Everyone walks or rides their bikes. I also had the extra benefit of aerobic exercise when I carried our supplies up two flights of stairs to our third floor apartment.

For the mnd:
On Friday I finished reading The Diana Chronicles and continued listening to Tin Roof Blowdown. On Saturday, we finished unpacking and gobbling supper earliy enough to catch the pre-symphony concert lecture by Lee Speers and got to hear directly from the composer of "Night Light", Yanim Leef, and then learned a great deal about Beethoven's use of motif's in his Symphony no, 9.

For the spirit:
On Friday, I fell asleep before completing my mindfulness meditaiton. On Satuday I wouild say that the hour long performancy of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 with it's final section "Ode to Joy" more than counts for a true connection to spirituality.

Week 7, Day 5

2007-08-17T12:42:00.000-04:00

[What's this whole Week/Day thing about? Please see my original posting Starting an Exercise Program (again)].

For the body:
I was crunched for time today what with working all day, rushing off to get a much needed perm from the Headlines talented stylist, Pat Mac Dougall, and then off to grocery shop and get ready for my week vacation at Chautauqua. I elected to count the 30 minutes at Bob's Big M pushing a shopping cart as the 30 minutes of aerobic exercise needed for today. I postponed today's strength and flexibility training.

For the mind:
I read several more chapters of The Diana Chronicles and listened to more of Audible.com's audiobook, Tin Roof Blowdown by James Lee Burke.

For the spirit:
Nothing like multi-tasking! While waiting for the 1st perm solution to set, I used the twenty minutes for metta meditation.

Week 7, Day 4

2007-08-16T12:45:00.000-04:00

[What's this whole Week/Day thing about? Please see my original posting Starting an Exercise Program (again)].

For the body:
A day of rest!!!!

For the mind:
I began to explore Facebook in more depth. I invited several more individuals to join and now have a total of 9 friends. Wooo Hooo! I also continued to listen to my Audible.com book, Tin Roof Blowdown.

For the spirit:
A half hour of metta (loving kindness or friendship) meditation, where one begins by wishing for the following for oneself:

After doing that for awhile, one then wishes the above for a benefactor, then for a friend, then for a neutral person (one for whom you have neither positive nor negative feelings) and then for someone disliked. Eventually, one wishes the above for all creatures (self included).

It was a nice change from attempting to watch my breath.

Week 7, Day 3

2007-08-15T12:10:00.000-04:00

What's this whole Week/Day thing about? Please see my original posting Starting an Exercise Program (again).

For the body:
Thirty minutes on the treadmill, walking at 2.1 miles per hour while watching the PBS show, Origins.

For the mind:
As I noted above, I watched the acclaimed PBS show, Origins, Episode Two: How Life Began. I found it fascinating to learn that we might owe our very existence to a byproduct of bacteria

"...It's amazing to contemplate, but without cyanobacteria, there would be no oxygen and Earth would still be smothered in noxious gases. Plants, animals and humans would have never evolved..."

(From Origins: How Life Began.)

For the mind:I only managed ten minutes or so of mindfulness meditation. Partly because of our pets and partly because of an allergy headache.

Week 7, Day 2

2007-08-14T12:22:00.000-04:00

What this Week/Day thing all about? Please see my initial posting Starting an Exercise Program (again).

For the body:
Two sets of 10 repetitions of strength exercises using a 2.5 pound weight. Two sets of 25 repetitions of situps; two sets of 15 repetitions of back exercises; and two sets of 25 repetitions of leg extensions.

For the mind:
I started listening to another books from Audible.com, Tin Roof Blowdown by James Lee Burke. He's the first fiction writer I know of to write about New Orleans and the surrounding area post Katrina and he's doing it with a gut wrenching honesty.

For the spirit:
Twenty minutes of mindfulness meditation with my cat, Zak.

Week 7, Day 1

2007-08-13T18:54:00.000-04:00

For the body:
Thirty minutes on the treadmill while watching an episode of Battlestar Galactica on my iPod. (It's amazing how fast time can pass that way!) Flexibility exercises completed as well.

For the mind:
I continued to peruse The Diana Chronicles and have been listening to Librivox's mp3 file recording of Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson, just because.

For the spirit:
Twenty minutes of mindfulness meditation.

Week 6, Days 6 & 7

2007-08-11T20:00:00.000-04:00

For the body:
Thirty minutes on the treadmill watching an episode of Battlestar Galactica on my iPod on Friday. Saturday was another day of rest. Next week the intensity of exercise increases to two sets of strength exercises and additional days of aerobic and flexibility exercise.

For the mind:
Listening to some podcasts from Fora.tv about web 2.0 as well as reading several more chapters of The Diana Chronicles.

For the spirit:
Twenty minutes of Meditation on Hindrances last night and 20 minutes of mindfulness meditation with the cat on my meditation cushion.

Week 6, Day 5

2007-08-10T11:13:00.000-04:00

For the body:
I did both the strength and flexibility exercises tonight and tried to convince myself that grocery shopping equated aerobic exercise. (I know that it didn't as I didn't break a sweat.)

For the mind:
I finished listening to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows yesterday and can breathe a sigh of relief that I got through it before inadvertently learning the ending. It was a "ripping good" listen. Highly recommended. I also read several chapters of The Diana Chronicles.

For the spirit:
Made the mistake of attempting to meditate while lying in bed. (P.S. That's a quick and easy method for falling asleep.)

Week 6, Day 4

2007-08-09T12:06:00.000-04:00

For the body:
A day of rest from aerobic, strength or flexibility exercises. I also went to bed early.

For the mind:

I picked up a reserved book at the Lyons Public Library, The Diana Chronicles by Tina Brown and dipped into it briefly. I'm also on the seventeenth and final CD of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

For the spirit:
I went out to the gazebo with my basset, Zeke, and meditated for almost 20 minutes. He is incredibly hyperactive for a seven year old dog and simply cannot sit still for long, particularly when chipmunks saunter by.

Week 6, Day 3

2007-08-08T12:15:00.000-04:00

For the body:
Thirty minutes walking on the treadmill at 2.1 miles per hour for a total distance of 1.05 miles.

For the mind:
While walking the treadmill noted above, I watched the first episode of Origins on WXXI, my local PBS station. I had no idea how far geology, volcanism and the earth sciences had progressed since my 9th grade science class back in 1965. Terms such as "magma ocean" and "iron catastrophe" and concepts such as the bulk of the earth's oceans being created by the impact of huge, frozen snowballs known as comets helped the 30 minutes on the treadmill go quickly.

For the spirit:
Twenty minutes spent sitting on my upstairs meditation cushion listening to my cat meow up at me.

Week 6, Day 2

2007-08-07T12:27:00.000-04:00

For the body:
Approximately 10 minutes of strength exercises.

For the mind:
Further exploration of the veritable tome, Einstein: His Life and Universe by Walter Isaacson.

For the spirit:
Twenty minutes of mindfulness meditation on my upstairs cushion. I also found an interesting meditation, "The Way of Cats", given the propensity of my cat, Zak, to want to sit when me when I meditate. It's an excerpt from Interluderetreat.com

Some people make meditation complicated. They think it must be done according to a technical prescription. The posture must be just so. The hands must be held just so. The proper mantra must be recited. The incense must be lit. All the equipment must be placed correctly. Their cats, on the other hand, meditate just fine without any instruction and in the most varied circumstances.

A cat will sit and stare at a spot on the floor or out the window and be completely transfixed. They require no preparation for this. They have total concentration, minds empty of worry or care. Nobody forces them to this contemplation. They have no superego harrying them to do their duty. Perhaps because they are predators, they have the gift of natural, relaxed, alertness and focus.

Cats have the ability to take joy in simple things. They eat. They play. They give and take affection. They do their duty of protecting the household from small moving things, because that is what they are drawn to do.

There is nothing complicated in the world of a cat. No one needs to tell them when to go to sleep, and when they awaken, they stretch their muscles in a natural yoga that no one had to teach them. When they move, cats step softly and move swiftly, or oh so slowly, as the situation requires. Their stealth is the envy of the greatest ninja. As Doris Lessing said, "If a fish is the movement of water embodied, given shape, then a cat is a diagram and pattern of subtle air."

Week 6, Day 1

2007-08-05T19:03:00.000-04:00

Well, I missed several days of exercising, it was just too hot and muggy. And then I somehow threw my back out. Excuses, excuses, I know. I did do my mindfulness meditation, however.

For the body;
I walked just over 1 mile on the treadmill at 2.1 miles per hour and I will do the flexibility exercises after posting this.

For the mind:
I listened to several podcasts from The Classic Tales with B.J. Harrison, "The Lost Phoebe" by Theodore Drieser and Arthur Conan Doyle's "The Redheaded League".

For the spirit:
I spent some time with friends at a chicken barbeque.

Week 5, Day 3

2007-08-01T12:10:00.000-04:00

For the body:
Thirty minutes on the treadmill, walking at 2.1 mph.

For the mind:
I stretched my brain muscles by beginning to learn my way around Facebook. I was invited to be friends there by my niece, Robyn, and my student intern, Rachel. I also found another niece who is living in Florida. I planted two flowers in my online "garden" there and will send flowers to Robyn when she accepts the garden invitation.

For the spirit:
Twenty minutes of mindfulness meditation (following the breath) sitting on my library futon between Zeke and Zak.

Week 5, Day 2

2007-07-31T13:37:00.000-04:00

For the body:
Yesterday called for 1 set of 12 repetitions using a 2.5 pound weight of the following strength exercises: chest press with dumbells, low back extension, abdominal curls, bicep curls, tricep press, arm lateral raises and side leg lifts.

For the mind:
(OK, mind candy.) I'm deep into Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - disk 11 of 17 of the CD version. For more serious moments I've started reading Einstein: His Life and Universe by Walter Isaacson.

For the spirit:
Twenty minutes of mindfulness meditation (without the cat) on my cushion upstairs.

Week 5, Day 1

2007-07-30T12:19:00.001-04:00

Harborfest brought about some dislocation in my exercise plan. Because I chose to attend the Blood, Sweat & Tears concert on Thursday and the fireworks on Friday, I missed doing a strength and a flexibility program. I believe I walked enough (to get to an excellent site for watching the fireworks) to count as 30 minutes of aerobic activity. (Photo credit: Kim Westcott, Cornerstone Media Solutions)

Last night I began week five of the program and did my 30 minutes of walking on the treadmill (while watching another House episode on my iPod). I also did the required flexibility exercises. Then it was time to go upstairs and sit on my meditation cushion with my cat, Zak, for 20 minutes of mindfulness meditation.

Week 4, Day 4

2007-07-25T20:44:00.001-04:00

My husband discovered a bat in the house at 1:30 am last night. Needless to say, the house was in an uproar for awhile and I found it difficult to get back to sleep. Luckily, today was a rest day.

For the body:
I walked back and forth to the main office today - about 30 minutes.

For the mind:
I listened to a Classic Tales Podcast of a Thomas Hardy short story, "Barbara of the House of Grebe." I can't remember ever reading any Hardy. I hadn't realized what I missed. It was a tale of impulsity and youth; surface beauty versus depth of character and how life and love play out between one woman and two men. Needless to say, it does not have a happy ending.

For the spirit:
I did 20 minutes of mindfulness meditation last night. I have a feeling I'll fall asleep before I get in tonight's meditation.

Week 4, Day 3

2007-07-24T20:36:00.000-04:00

For the body:
I got in another 30 minutes walking 2 mph on the treadmill while watching another episode of House in my iPod.

For the mind:
I finished the book Beyond AI. What I learned is how much I don't know about artificial intelligence and where we stand now on our ability to create it. I took a course in college, Philiosophy of the Mind, that addressed the earliest hints of this subject in the early 1970's. I had no idea what had transpired during the intervening years effecting the co-evolution of the study of the human brain and/or mind and computerized artificial intelligence. It actually made me quite hopeful about humankind's continued existence when the expected breakthroughs come leading to para human AI or even hyper human AI.

For the spirit
I did complete 25 minutes of mindfulness of body sensations last night and plan to meditate again tonight.

Week 4, Day 2

2007-07-23T19:40:00.000-04:00

For the body:
I did today's strength exercises (mostly 12 repetitions using a 2.5 pound weight).

For the mind:
I tried to keep up with the political news coming out of Washington, DC, and New York State by checking my favorite blogs: Daily Kos and The Albany Project.

For the spirit:
I plan to get in 20 minutes of mindfulness meditation before I fall asleep tonight.

Week 4, Day 1

2007-07-22T18:24:00.000-04:00

OK, I'm starting week four of my exercise regimen. Just a few more days should make it a habit, right? Right....

For the body:
Thirty minutes on the treadmill while watching an old episode of House (Wack-a-mole). Ten minutes of flexibility exercising.

For the mind:
I listened to another tale read by B.J.Harrison at The Classic Tales Podcast: The Spotted Band by Authur Conan Doyle. (A Sherlock Holmes mystery). Mr. Harrison did a wonderful job with his British accents, making each character distinctly him or herself. I also entertained myself with Show #73 of The Babylon Podcast in which I got to indulge my inner deep geek on the Season 3 show, "Convictions". Great job, Tim, Tim, Jeffrey, Mike and Edmund! I read several more chapters of Beyond AI.

For the spirit"
I listened to a dharma talk from The Interdependence Project by Ethan Nictern on Anger. I also sat for 25 minutes while listening to a guided meditation on Mindfulness of Sensation by Sharon Slazberg (from her book, Mindfulness Meditation: A Step by Step Course in How to Meditate with Joseph Goldstein.

Week 3, Day 7

2007-07-21T19:43:00.000-04:00

For the body:
Today was an official day of rest from my formal exercise program. However, I think I burned calories by vacuuming the house and dusting, doing dishes and 4 loads of wash. I also took our basset, Zeke, out for a walk to smell the wildlife.

For the mind:
I got bogged down in some nearly incomprehensivle chapters in Beyond AI involving evidence grids, bayesian networks and seguing into designing for a brain. I forged my way through and found myself in somewhat more understandable territory describing the different stages of AI: hypohuman, diahuman, parahuman, allohuman, epihuman and hyperhuman. Several more chapters to go.

On the lighter side, I listened to another Escape Pod podcast, entitled "Conversations with and about my Electric Toothbrush" by Derek Zumsteg. Zany, spectulative science fiction at its best, deliniating the plight of a poor electric toothbrush with higher aspirations for itself and its human owner. The iTunes store emailed me about another new podcast, the Classic Tales Podcast. I grabbed all 8 episodes and listened to "The cask of Amontillado" by Edgar Allen Poe. We had a very old bound set of Poe when I was growing up and I have hazy memories of the tale. The narrator, B.J. Harrison, does a fantastic job of bringing it to life.

For the spirit:
I've been listening to various dharma talks from The InterDependence Project and sat for 20 minutes of breath meditation. I also reminded my husband to move the old television off my meditation cushion and put it anyplace else.

Week 3, Day 6

2007-07-20T20:35:00.000-04:00

For the body:
I played catch-up today and finally got in my 10 minutes (12 reps) of strength exercises.

For the mind:
I discovered a new audiobook from one of my favorite cop/mystery writers, The Tin Roof Blowdown: A Dave Robicheaux Novel by James Lee Burke. I grabbed it from Audible.com primarily because he is according New Orleans (and other hurricane devastated areas) the respect it deserves by portraying it in all its horrifying detail. (Something yet to be addressed by our Federal government).

For the spirit:
I sat for 20 minutes of breath meditation with the cat.

Week 3, Day 5

2007-07-19T19:43:00.000-04:00

For the mind:
I indulged myself by listening to two short science fiction stories at Escape Pod. One was a five minute flash story entitled, "The God of the Goblins" by Eric Marin. The other was a 20 minute story called "Implications" by James C. Bassett. I find that I still love being read to, as my parents used to do many years ago.

For the body:
I walked about 30 minutes today, going from the jail to Wayne Behavioral Health Network and back to pick up my paycheck, etc. Because it had been raining and the skies looked like they might let loose another downpour at any time, my co-worker, Diane, drove at the rate of 2 mph by my side in case I suddenly needed a rescue from the rain. What are true friends for, anyway?

For the sprit:
I found another website on mindfulness meditation, The Mindful Awareness Research Center at UCLA. There I found a 12 minute guided meditation on the breath, body and sound awareness.

Week 3, Days 3 and 4

2007-07-18T17:46:00.000-04:00

The allergy headache returned with a vengence yesterday and I allowed myself to slack off on the exercise program. Monday had called for 10 minutes of strength training, while thirty minutes of aerobics was scheduled for yesterday. I did manage to walk thirty minutes today while at work. I plan on making up Monday's 10 minutes of strength training tonight.

For the mind:
I've been keeping up with the Republican filibuster in the Senate and doing what I can to support the start of a withdrawal from the civil war in Iraq.

For the body:
30 minutes of walking.

For the spirit:
Listening to dharma talks on mindfulness of the breath and mindfulness of feelings.

Week 3, Day 2

2007-07-16T21:15:00.000-04:00

For the body, mind and spirit:
Today's allergy headache just got worse and worse. The best thing I can do for all the parts of me is to take some antihistamines and go to bed early.

Week 3, Day 1

2007-07-15T21:56:00.000-04:00

For the mind:
I perused the Sunday Democrat & Chronicle, dipped into a couple of books and watched an episode of Battlestar Galactica, Season 1. The mind needs entertainment as well as enlightenment.

For the body:
I walked on the treadmill for 30 mnutes. It's surprising how fast the time goes when I'm watching Grease and listening to the musical soundtrack. I tried to take Zeke for a walk, but it's most decidedly not an aerobic one. We have to stop every few feet and snuff where the rabbits, chipmunks, grey squirels and woodchuck have been. I also did my 7 minutes of flexibility exercise. I managed to find my pedometer and clipped it on first thing in the morning. Looking at it as of this moment I have walked 7,221 stepsn today, (including the treadmill).

For the spirit:
I downloaded the 20 minute meditation timer from Insight Meditation Center and sat for 20 minutes between my cat, Zak, and my dog, Zeke.

Week 2, Day 7

2007-07-14T17:18:00.000-04:00

It's been a quiet, pleasant day: seeing friends, visiting the Fulton Public Library, buying fresh fruits and vegetables (and a decadent raspberry jam-filled, chocolate drizzled, sugar cookie) all from Sunshine Produce.

For the mind:
I am continuing to read Beyond AI, and now have a book waiting for me at the Lyons Public Libary, as well.

For the body:
A second day of rest. I need to dig out the pedometer that the Solutions for Wellness site sent me, because I know that I actually did have some activity today. I just don't know how many steps I took.

For the spirit:
I plugged into my iPod and listened to the "Breath Meditation" guided meditation from Insight Meditation: a step by step course in how to meditate by Sharon Salzberg and Joseph Goldstein.

Week 2, Day 6

2007-07-13T21:48:00.000-04:00

For the body:
Today and tomorrow are "rest" days according to the exercise program, so I'm treating my body well by going to sleep at a reasonable hour.

For the mind:
Actually, it's for body, mind and spirit, a serendipitous pick-up at the Lyons Public Libary, Fit to Live by Pamela Peeke, MH, MPH, FACP. Part 1: Are you mentally fit to live? Part 2: Are you nutritionally fit to live? Part 3: Are you physically fit to live?, Part 4: Are you financially fit to live? and Part 5: Are you environmentally fit to live? I began leafing through it tonight while in the gazebo with Zeke.

For the spirit:
Several attempts were made to meditate, both interrupted. Once by my husband when he came out to the gazebo to be with me and once when I tried again later while lying down with the cat (we both fell asleep!)

Week 2, Day 5

2007-07-12T20:10:00.000-04:00

For the body:

30 minutes of aerobics on the treadmill (2 mph)
10 minutes of strength exercises
10 minutes of flexibility exercises

For the mind:

I learned that today was Julius Caesar's birthday (a factoid, I know)
I plan on grabbing Beyond AI for a few more chapters before falling asleep.

For the spirit:

20 mintues of mindfulness meditation

Week 2, Day 4

2007-07-11T17:41:00.000-04:00

For the mind:
I found some time to read Garrison Keillor's The Writer's Almanac today and found the following entry:

It's the birthday of the literary critic and teacher Harold Bloom..., born in New York City (1930) to Jewish immigrants. His first language was Yiddish, and he started reading poetry in English before he'd ever heard English spoken. He didn't do well in high school but took the statewide Regents exams, got the highest score in the state, and that won him a scholarship to Cornell.

He went on to study literature at Yale in the 1950s at a time when there was a dress code. The students wore jackets and ties. Harold Bloom wore an old Russian leather coat and a pair of fisherman's trousers. He became famous at Yale for his great love of poetry. He memorized everything that he read. He could recite enormous, long poems.

As a professor at Yale and as a critic, Bloom has moved further and further away from the mainstream of literary criticism in this country. Most other critics look at literature as a product of history, politics, and society. Whereas Harold Bloom is one of the last who believes that great literature is a product of pure genius, and who believes that we should read not to learn about history or politics but to learn about the human soul.

In the last few years, he's begun writing books for general readers, believing that scholars have forgotten how to read for pleasure, and many of his recent books have become best-sellers, including Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human and How to Read and Why and Genius: A Mosaic of One Hundred Exemplary Creative Minds.

Now, I took a mandatory course in college entitled "Literary Criticism" that was the most deadly dull, excruciating exercise in futility that I can remember from my entire four years. To read that Professor Bloom had a completely different view of literary criticism, "...to learn about the human soul..." sparked enough interest in me to go online to the Pioneer Libary System and request his book, How to Read and Why. More to follow...

For the body:
Today is a rest day as the Solutions for Wellness exercise program slowly builds up over the next twelve weeks. Moderation in all things, I tell myself. And, indeed, my muscles were a bit sore from the strength training.

For the spirit:
After I post this, I'm going to set my meditation timer widget for twenty minutes and sit on my futon between Zeke, the basset, and Zak, the cat, and attempt to follow my breath. Wish me luck!

Week 2, Day 3

2007-07-10T20:09:00.000-04:00

For the body:
Even with the humidity sky high, I managed to walk from my office in the jail to our main complex and back this afternoon, hurrying a bit because of thunder. Later that night I walked 15 minutes on the treadmll in the much cooler exercise area in my basement.

For the mind:
I listened to the episoide #69 podcast of This American Life entitled Dreamhouse and will delve back into further chapters of Beyond AI.

For the spirit:
I got about a third of the way through Gil Fronsdal's second introductory lecture on mindfulness meditation as well as sitting for 20 minutes. I should get extra points for that because my husband's newest toy, an HD LCD TV was installed on our television stand and the older, heavier TV was placed on my meditation cushion so as to not mar the hardwood floor. I went out to our gazebo with our basset, Zeke, instead. It was difficult staying focused when he just had to keep our property safe from marauding chipmunks by barking. I had my iPod with me to keep track of the time. I used the stopwatch function, which somehow seemed just wrong. Meditation shouldn't be measured down to hundreths of a second.

Week 2, Day 2

2007-07-09T20:16:00.000-04:00

(Side note: for some reason Blogger is giving me fits tonight. Safari can't access it at all and Firefox isn't allowing me to edit with ease.)

For the body:
I thought I needed to do 30 minutes of aerobics today, so, after cleaning up the basement exercise area to make it more conducive to actually exercising there, I jumped on the treadmill for 15 minutes. Again, figuring an hour's worth of heavy duty cleaning should count for something aerobic.

Later tonight I actually looked at the Solutions for Wellness exercise guide and discovered today wasn't 30 minutes of aerobics, but 10 minutes of strength exercises! So, after the PBS newshour I scooted back down cellar to my husband's old weight bench, grabbed my trusty 2.5 pound weights and got to work.

For the spirit:
I managed to escape both the dog and the cat and make it upstairs unseen to sit on my meditation cushion for 20 minutes.

For the mind:
This is always the easiest part for me. I can always find something to do to expand my mental capabilities. Today it was listening to Beethoven's First Symphony and I'll probably finish off the day by picking up J. Storrs Hall's book, Beyond AI: Creating the Conscience of the Machine.

Week 2, Day 1

2007-07-08T21:10:00.000-04:00

Today's exercise plan called for 30 minutes of aerobics and 10 minutes of flexibility exercises. I spent about two hours cleaning the house (vacuuming, scrubbing the floor, dusting, carting things down cellar, etc.) in an effort to get the house ready for company if my mother-in-law's family decided to spend some time at our house after celebrating her birthday at the Pleasant Beach Hotel in Fair Haven, New York. I'm going to say that doing that was at least the equivalent of walking on the treadmill for 30 minutes. I did the 10 minutes of stretching and managed to find the time to get in 20 minutes of mindfulness meditation today.

Days 6 and 7

2007-07-07T20:28:00.000-04:00

Well, I wasn't very sore from the previous day's exertions and there are no aerobic, strength or flexibility exercises scheduled for Friday or Saturday, which is a good thing because of a suddenly packed social calendar. I met up with a friend after work on Friday for pizza and palaver. Saturday found my husband and me at an afternoon wedding and reception. I tried to eat reasonably, but I know my calorie intake was much more than 1500/day.

I did meditate both last night and tonight. I thought I had set my meditation widget for 20 minutes yesterday. When bell sounded so soon I discovered I had set it for only 10 minutes. Tonight was the full 20 Gil suggested in his introductory lecture. My mind, of course, went to such things as what will I blog about tonight and how I needed to catch up and two day's worth of blogging because of yesterday's late night. The job is to watch the mind and watch it I did.

Day 5

2007-07-05T20:18:00.001-04:00

I somehow managed to work a full day, go grocery shopping, do two loads of laundry, throw a pizza together for supper and walk 30 minutes on the treadmill, as well as lifting free weights and doing some flexibility exercises. We'll see what type of shape I'm in tomorrow - if I'm even able to get out of bed.

I listened to Gil Fronsdal's first talk on introduction to mindfulness meditation last night. (You can stream it from the site listed in my previous post.) I've commited to 20 minutes of meditation on a daily basis this week. Once I post this entry, that's what I'll be doing. I just can't seem to meditate in the morning as I am not a morning person. Evening meditation is fine, too. So here goes.

Day 4

2007-07-04T18:46:00.001-04:00

July 4th is a national holiday and, after checking my Solutions for Wellness exercise plan, I learned it was an exercise holiday for me as well. I'll be more than making up for it tomorrow, it seems, when the plan calls for 30 minutes of aerobics, 7 minutes of flexibility exercise and 10 minutes of strength training. If I don't get in some walking tomorrow at work, I'll jump on the treadmill at home after grocery shopping.

The flexibility exercises consist of:

overhead arm stretch
crossover shoulder stretch
full spinal stretch
seated spinal twist and hip extension
knee to chest stretch
back and thigh stretch
straight let, bent knee hamstring stretch

All of these are repeated three times and held for at least 10 seconds, working up to a full 30 seconds.

The strength component is currently comprised of seven exercises, performed with light weights, 1 set of 10 to 12 repetitions:

Chest press with dumbbells (for the chest)
lower back extension (for the back)
ab curls (for the abdomen)
bicep curls (for the arms)
triceps press (for the arms)
lateral raises (for the shoulders)
side leg lifts (for the legs).

That's enough projection about tomorrow. I'm stopping now for some more mindfulness meditation with the cat.

Day 3

2007-07-03T07:57:00.000-04:00

Today may be the "proof of the pudding" (or the taco dip) as far as my exercise program goes. After work I need to stop and buy items for a dish to pass, pick up my prescriptions, fill my gas tank, rush home and construct the 7 layer taco dip tor tonight's early 4th of July celebration with friends on the bay. We're staying for the fireworks, so I won't be home until late. I certainly hope nothing's listed as required exercise today. I guess I'll see and report back.

Much later...

Well, I managed to squeeze in 30 minutes of walking 2 mph on the treadmill and still get ready for the fireworks party later. Before I become too self-congratulatory, I completely forgot about meditating. Truth to tell, the tacos and dip I consumed while waiting for the fireworks probably wiped out the fat calories I lost walking on the treadmill. With luck, it balanced out.

Day 2

2007-07-02T20:57:00.000-04:00

Today's exercise plan did not call for an aerobic, flexibility or strength routine. (One starts out slowly apparently - by exercising three times a week.) I elected to try a yoga series of Half Sun Salutations repeated 5 times just to keep myself on track.

I also began entering my food intake in an online food/activity web site known as FitDay.com.

Now on to mindfulness meditation...

I'm back. With a question. Why does 10 minutes go by so slowly while meditating and speed by after hitting the snooze button in the morning? My non-scientific answer? Time has more energy first thing in the morning and, due to entropy, slows down the later the hour.

Starting an Exercise Program (again)

2007-07-01T20:00:00.000-04:00

I glowered at the digital bathroom scales this morning as I saw them register 158 pounds after I stepped on them right after taking a shower. (Now some of that could conceivably be water weight absorbed through my skin, but I don't think that accounts for all of the weight gain.) Over the past few months I had gotten down to 151 pounds through watching my diet and taking medicine for my hypothryoidism. Uh uh! Maybe my body's equilibrium has shifted back.

Several months earlier I had managed to start an aerobic routine using the treadmill (while watching the Newshour on PBS) until it broke and suddenly started going 13.4 mph!!!! It took Mark awhile to discover what was wrong, then order the part, then find time to install it. More than enough time for me to get out of the habit of exerise.

So, I dug out the Solutions for Wellness diet and exercise notebook I had ordered for free through Eli Lilly and reread the exercise handouts. Sunday's plan called for 30 minutes of aerobic exercise followed by a brief series of flexibility exercises. I elected to ramble all over our property with our basset hound, Zeke, while listening to a science fiction podcast. (I know the dog was tired out by sniffing out countless rabbits, chipmunks and squirrels) Then I did the 10 minutes of flexibility exercises called for.

Lilly also sent me a pedometer as a reward for completing several surveys. I'm not sure it's actually working correctly. It's has too many bells and whistles (compass, stop watch, step counter, distance counter, etc.) for something made of purple plastic.

People who know me know I'm always reading and trying to learn new things. Exercising my mind is never ever a problem. But exercising my body? Maybe I should also include spiritual exercise here as well. After all, I'm a tripartite human being, composed of mind, body and spirit.

So, I'm going to set my meditation widget for 10 minutes and see what happens. Beginners Mind all over again.

.....

Ok, I'm back. The cat did much better with mindful purring than I did meditating. It seemed like the 10 minutes was taking forever and my over active mind could not be still. I finally got up to see how close I was to the end and saw I still had 2 more minutes to go. The cat settled back down on my lap easily and I got lost in my mind and then the bell rang.

More tomorrow.

Need for dialogue

2007-02-26T18:40:00.000-05:00

I received the following emailed news item from Mary Anne, a kindred spirit and thoughtful friend, and felt it important enough to give it prominent placement on my blog. Heaven knows, we need to be opening up a dialogue with Iran.

US RELIGIOUS DELEGATION FINDS HOPE IN IRAN

As Christian leaders from the United States, we went to
Iran at this time of increased tension believing that it
is possible to build bridges of understanding between our
two countries. We believe military action is not the
answer, and that God calls usto just and peaceful
relationships within the global community.

We were a diverse group of Christian leaders that included
United Methodist, Episcopal, Catholic, Baptist, Evangelical,
Quaker, and Mennonites who have 17 years of on the
ground experience in Iran. We were warmly welcomed by
the Iranian people, and our time in Iran convinced us
that religious leaders from both countries can help
pave the way for mutual respect and peaceful relations
between our nations.

During our visit we met with Muslim and Christian leaders,
government officials, and other Iranian people. Our final
day included a meeting with former President Khatami and
current President Ahmadinejad. The meeting with President
Ahmadinejad was the first time an American delegation had
met with a sitting Iranian President in Iran since the
Islamic revolution in 1979. The meeting lasted 2.5 hours
and covered a range of topics including the role of religion
in transforming conflict, Iraq, nuclear proliferation,
and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

What the delegation found most encouraging from the
meeting with President Ahmadinejad was a clear
declaration from him of no intention to acquire or
use nuclear weapons, as well as a statement that
the Israeli-Palestinian conflict can only be solved
through political not military means. Finally, he said,
"I have no reservation about conducting talks with
American officials if we see some good will."

We believe it is possible for further dialogue and that
there can be a new day in U.S. - Iranian relations. The
Iranian government has already built a bridge toward the
American people by inviting our delegation to come
to Iran. We ask the U.S. government to welcome a similar
delegation of Iranian religious leaders to the United
States.

As additional steps in building bridges between our
nations, we call upon both the United States and Iranian
governments to:

* Immediately engage in direct face-to-face talks
* Cease using language that defines the other using "enemy"
images
* Promote more people to people exchanges including religious
leaders, members of Parliament/Congress, and civil society

As people of faith, we are committed to working towards
these and other confidence building measures, which we
hope will move our two nations from the precipice of war
towards a more just and peaceful settlement.

For more information contact:
Dan Webster
Director of Media Relations
National Council of Churches, USA
475 Riverside Drive Suite 880
New York, NY 10115
Phone: 212 870-2252
Fax 212 870-2030
email: dwebster@ncccusa.org

I'll show you mine if you'll show me yours (otherwise known as what's on my iPod?)

2007-02-23T18:23:00.000-05:00

My iPod is an iPod mini, a model that Apple no longer makes and that has long been superceded. It continues to perform admirably and has been in daily use for several years. It's a rich-looking brushed silver and was engraved "La Vaughn's iPod" as well as with the following quote from Helen Keller: "Literature is my utopia." It's generally found happily esconced in my purse in it's own special suitcase from stm accompanied by a tiny AirPlay adapter that allows me to listen to it through my car's speakers.

As might be guessed from the Keller quote, my iPod is currently filled with a number of books, ranging from History of the World by J. M. Roberts (approximately 25 hours of listening pleasure), The Inner Art of Meditation by Jack Kornfield (8 hours of listening), The Middle Way by Jinananda (4 hours of teachings about the Buddha) and Shakespeare by Peter Ackroyd (14 hours of biographical erudition on all things Shakespearean).

Then there are the podcasts. I subscribe to three dharma talks podcasts: 21st Century Buddhism, Audio Dharma (from the Insight Meditation Center) and Urban Dharma featuring Rev. Kusala. For a broader perspective on the news, I subscribe to Mosaic - World News from the Middle East and From Our Own Correspondent from the BBC. Then there's CUC Digital Sermons from the Unitarian Universalist Church. And, just for pure auditory pleasure, there's This American Life by Ira Glass. I'm also holding on to 24 lectures on Abnormal Psychology from the University of Berkeley, California, until I can get my hands on the accompanying textbook.

Ok,I actually do have some music on my iPod: 2 CD's worth of Blues from the Best of the Blues collection obtained on a whim at Walmart, Windham Hill 's CD America, Sax for Success by Workbeats (a wonderful Jazz find at my local grocery store) and a new age CD downloaded through iTunes called Healing Therapy Music: Colors.

OK, that's mine (and I still have 1.5 gigabytes of space left!!!) Let's see yours!

Brrrrrr! It's cold and getting colder! (or Reader's Reverie for February 4th)

2007-02-04T15:27:00.000-05:00

It's 11 degrees Farenheit outside right now and I suspect it's actually a little colder given the wind chill factor. That makes today a great day to stay inside and post something on this blog. (Photo Credit:US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)

I've got a pile of reading material to catch up on ranging from Don't Know Much About History by Kenneth C. Davis and Six Days of War: June 1967 and the Making of the Modern Middle East by Michael B. Oren (both Christmas presents from my husband). I can't wait to grab my Christmas present to him: Palestine: Peace not Apartheid by former President Carter. I just finished re-reading an old science fiction favorite: A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller, Jr. (circa 1955). On my bedside stand is a new book by the Dalai Lama, How to See Yourself As You Really Are. Please don't assume I've always got my nose stuck in such mind stretching books. I'm also salivating over two books from the Weis and Hickman DragonLance series: Dragons of a Fallen Sun and Dragons of the a Lost Star,

As if that wasn't enough, I've ordered the (used) textbook for a course on Clinical Psychology I'm auditing via iTunes from Berkeley. I'm also reading an ebook, Nutritional Sciences: From Fundamentals to Food for another course on Human Nutrition at Berkeley. As an aside, I can't believe how much higher educational courses have changed since I was in college (1969-1973). The ebook comes with a companion website containing flashcards for drill, a themed crossword puzzle, animations, chapter summaries and learning objectives as well a complete practice exams that can be emailed to the instructor! I also believe that a course on nutrition will mean much more to these college freshmen in the long run than the mandatory science course that I took, Science and Man, so many years ago. That's not to say that I don't still remember the idea of paradigm change in science and haven't, on occasion, applied it to some current situation in my life. But, knowledge about nutrition, in this depth and at this level, will be something they (and I) can use daily for the rest of our lives.

Well, at least it's still 2006

2006-12-10T17:45:00.000-05:00

What can I say? Life got in the way of this blog again. Much of my time was taken by up by activites relating to the elections of November 7, 2006. Add to that chiropratic visits, dental visits (another crown), car repairs and just the general day to day activities of work, and it equals no postings. Well, that's my story and I'm sticking to it!

Google just did a little tease. When I clicked on my dashboard to get to this site, I was informed that they had a beta version of blogger. What I read sounded good. Unfortunately, when I clicked on through I learned that they apparently have enough beta testers, so I'll be using the old version for awhile longer.

What's new? It took me a long, loooooong time, listening one half hour each way to and from work, but I finished an absolutely wonderful audiobook, Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin. It took a total of 36 CDs, but was a "ripping good read". I'm much more knowledgeable about the history of the 1850's and 1860's, including Abraham Lincoln's election to the presidency and all the individuals he appointed to his cabinet (some of whom had actually been his rivals in that election and some of whom had been Democrats or Whigs just a few years prior.) It was a fascinating, in-depth look at the words and actions of many key players of that period taken directly from original source documents (their own or family members' diaries, letters, and telegrams). I now also know much more about William Sewert, Lincoln's Secretary of State. (I'm ashamed to say I don't ever remember visiting his house in Auburn, New York. There is much more to the man than high school history's labeling of Alaska as Sewert' Folly/Icebox. I recommend this book highly as an absolutely painless way to absorb our country's history.

Progress has ceased (for the time being) on all three bargello projects. Oh, the joys of being a cyclical scanner! I'll come back to them again, I know.

Besides sporadically writing here, I've begun commenting and writing diary entries on a brand new blog the albany project. I was the 24th registered user and have even had one of my diaries front paged! Exciting stuff! The blog is dedicated to bringing about reform of the dysfuctional New York State Legislature. Wish us luck and stop by to take a look!

Needlepoint News

2006-08-12T13:30:00.000-04:00

Well, I completed the needlepoint part of my first book cover as you can see:
I've put off doing the much more difficult (for me) component of sewing. That means going to the library closet and dragging out the portable sewing machine, trying to remember how to thread it and filling up a bobbin wth matching thread and then actually stitching. Home Ec was not my best subject back in junior high.

Instead of jumping right into making the bookcover lining, I decided to work up another bookcover, this time using a Victorian bargello pattern.

More to follow after I dust off the sewing machine....

Back to Bargello

2006-07-24T20:20:00.000-04:00

I recently decided to indulge myself and rediscover bargello, a type of needlepoint. (A big shout-out to Barbara Sher, life coach, for her category of "cyclical scanner" - an individual who may revisit multiple interests over a lifetime. It was such a relief to read in black and white that jumping from one interest to another didn't mean a lack of "stick-to-itiveness".)

It had been many years (dare I say decades) since I did any needlepoint. The craft technique itself hasn't changed, but the manner in which I obtained my supplies sure has. Way back when, my little village had a three story bargain center that was chock full of interesting yarns and notions. Over time, the family run business succumbed to worldwide market pressures. Standing firmly on principle, I refused to shop at Walmart. Instead, I let my keyboard take me to the people's marketplace, eBay, and quickly found both canvas and tapestry yarn at extemely reasonable prices. I learned that the storeowner of Linda's Vintage Treasures had lost her house when Katrina made landfall, but was one of the fortunate few who have been able to rebuild. I added her to my favorite list of sellers because of the quality of her tapestry yarns and ease of the transaction. I'm also very pleased to be able to send a little business the way of a Katrina-ravaged business. It feels like the small town thing to do.

So, here we have the work in progress. It will be a bookcover. (No surprise there, given my proclivities.) And it looks like I've enough yarn to experiment with several different bargello patterns for additional bookcovers.

Since this is the age of digital cameras and uploads via Flickr, I hope to post more pictures as the bookcover nears completion. And, speaking of finishing, I'd asked my crafter friend if she knew how to make linings for such a bookcover. She didn't off hand, but gave me some suggestions where to look. Wouldn't you know that I already had just the pattern in one of my craft books, purchased years ago as a discard from my local library. "So many books, so little time" (cribbed from the Fulton Public Library bookbag) and so true, so true.

I'm a cyclical scanner!

2006-06-13T17:05:00.000-04:00

After many years of trying not to think of myself as a dilettante or a Jill of all Trades and a Mistress of None, I've learned that I'm a scanner! Do you know what it feels like to be totally clueless about what you want to be when you grow up and you're almost 55? A peek through this blog gives some indication of the multiplicity of my enthusiams. Of late I've re-engaged in mindfulness meditation and have begun to revisit my Buddhist studies from college. I've also started re-reading some college books that I read back when I was 17 or 18. (Sometimes I think that college is wasted on the young; I had much more important things to attend to than simply study while I was in college! LOL!) I also lacked that gravitas, wisdom or shear run of the mill lifetime experience to truly comprehend what I read back then. So, I've been re-reading parts of Plato's Dialogues as well as Herman Hesse's Sidhartha.

Let me rein in my enthusiam long enough to give credit where credit is due: I need to thank Barbara Sher, a lifestyle coach, for her wonderful book and PBS show: Refuse to Choose. Now I understand that I'm a generalist and that there's nothing wrong with that; in fact, it's incredibly right! I have many cross stich projects and afgans in different stages of completion; I always have at least 5 books going at once. In my spare time (I DO have a fulltime job that keeps food on the table!), I listen to podcasts from Berkeley and other insitutions of higher education and I compose parodies of well-known tunes for various groups that I belong to. So, let me express my sincere appreciation to Barbara Sher by linking to her website www.barbarasher.com

More writing

2006-05-28T19:49:00.000-04:00

I went back to Bonnie Neubauer's website, bonniebauer.com, and found her online story spinner. Here's what she says about it: "Click on the Story Spinner to the left and you will get a starting phrase, a setting and four words that you must include in a story. Set a timer for 10-minutes... and then write!" So, being a good rule follower, I clicked and this is what I got:

Setting for your story: at a flea market

Starting phrase for your story: My intention had been to ask politely

Four words/phrases you must include in your story: Ad nauseam , Unearth, Web and Weekly. Setting my iBook meditation timer widget for 10 minutes as suggested, I was off and typing. Drumroll please!

My intention had been to ask politely, but first I had to locate the emporium owner. I had just unearthed my prize: an english porcelain teacup that matched one I'd smashed to smithereens eons ago. I had checked online web sources and been to eBay ad nauseam, to no avail. So I found myself devolving to old twentieth century behavior: going to garage sales and roadside flea markets on a weekly basis. I'd spotted lapsed treasures and grotty garbage. It amazes me what people will keep and keep and keep for years which suddenly turns up on a table across from ubiquitous trolls and beanie babies.

Liberating my writing

2006-05-27T14:34:00.000-04:00

It has probably been just a little short of forever since I journaled/blogged or wrote. Today's impetus is a new book, The Write-Brain Workbook, by Bonnie Newbauer. She takes Natalie Goldberg's famous precepts of writing and encapsulates them in 366 "exercises to liberate your writing". The first, entitled Circle Game, invited me to choose one word from each of three groups of five and then use those three words in a story that began: "Sometimes I feel like a gerbil running around and around on his wheel." The words I chose yesterday were "banister", "jambalaya" and "keepsake". I really only thought about the exercise yesterday - which isnt' a writing practice to speak of. Here's today's fingers to keyboard entry:

Sometimes I feel like a gerbil running around and around on his wheel. Sometimes I feel like a nut, but most times I don't. I wish I had had a banister to slide down when I was a kid, but I doubt I would have, being too consumed with "appropriate, good girl" behavior. And if I had found one to slide down, and had slid, with my lack of coordination, I would most likely have broken a bone and had a cast for a keepsake. I'd have hoped many friends and acquaintances would come and sign it for me. What kind of a keepsake would a virginal cast be? There should be a pastische of signatures and other graffiti embossed on it. A spicy, personal jambalaya of a cast.

OK. So I wrote and then went back and finnagled and finetuned. I don't really think that's cheating. Maybe I'll even post this effort on my blog.

How could I have missed blogging about this book?

2006-04-20T12:15:00.000-04:00

Almost every Saturday finds me at one of my favorite places, the Fulton Public Library. It was well over a number of months ago, falling into my usual routine of browsing the shelves displaying new acquisitions, that I first saw this book. I must have found the cover art intriguing enough to pick it up, leading to my perusal of the book jacket. Imagine my delight when I discovered that the title March referred to the progenitor of a family I had long ago met and loved in Louisa May Alcott's captivating creation, Little Women.

The author, Geraldine Brooks, apparently held Little Women as dear as I, but had been inspired to do what no other had done: she took the characters of Alcott's book, greatly expanding and enhancing them, fleshing them out in the bloodly context of our Civil War. Reverend March was mostly notable for his absence in Little Women. Brooks, through well-wraught flashbacks, introduces us to a man of flesh and fallibility. Unidimensional characters suddenly leap off the page and engage the reader in a tale that enriches the memory of Alcott's underpinning story.

Ms. Brook's Pulitzer Prize is well earned. I could have chosen no better book to win.

Reader's Reverie for April 17th

2006-04-17T12:05:00.000-04:00

Where does the time go? It has been over two months since I posted anything here. Mea culpa. Mea maxima culpa. I plead illness - that virus that seems to be taking down every usually abled bodied adult for 2 to 4 weeks - I succumbed as well.

My dilatoriness (if there is such a word) can also be laid directly to spending more time reading than blogging. I've spend many hours being hightly entertained by Kevin Anderson's three part science fiction opus: The Saga of Seven Suns, A Forest of Stars and Horizon Storm. George Guidall is one of my favorite narrators; his vocal skill brings much, much more to the audiobook. Kevin Anderson has created interesting alien races and robots, as well as believeable characters. His status as a New York Times bestselling author is well deserved.

I also finished Joan Didion's The Year of Magical Thinking. The stark portrayal of her denial, grief and mourning for her husband of forty years made for extremely painful reading. I understand why someone would not want to remove a loved ones belongings or clothes; the magical thinking: if their items remain, the owner yet remains, as well.

I''m currently reading Restless Souls: The Making of American Spirituality. I've also discovered an additional auditory resource: podcasts. Besides subscribing to the wonderful Zencast, I've found a weekly podcast on books from NPR, a history podcast about the twelve important Byzantine emperors and a podcast of what I believe is the Sunday Unitarian Universalist sermon out of New Jersey. I do have two ears, but I've found no way to multi-task listening to two separate podcasts at the same time.

Reader's Reverie for February 14th

2006-02-14T12:10:00.000-05:00

Recent reading material included: Cat Confidential by Vicky Halls (understanding and interpreting feline behavior); The Grail: A Secret History by John Matthews (an overview of the many possible sources for the grail legend, including ancient creation myths that led to Celtic versions of the grail, the enduring Arthurian legends involving Sir Lancelot, Sir Percival and Sir Galahad); A Million Little Pieces by James Frey (the factually challenged "memoir" of his stay at an alcohol/drug rehab); The Complete Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis (fairy tales that I had somehow missed reading as a child); current "mind candy": A Dragon's Ascension by Ed Greenwood (book 3 of his sword and socery series which includes The Kingless Land: Band of Four, book 1, The Vacant Throne: Band of Four, book 2.

Upcoming reads include: Jefferson's War by Joseph Wheeler, Dragon's Doom: Bank of Four, book 4 by Ed Greenwood and Lincoln's Melancholy by Joshua Shenk.

I think I'm too busy reading to take the time necessary to blog.

Reader's Reverie for January 17th

2006-01-17T20:23:00.001-05:00

Hmmmm, well, I've finished listening to Janet Evanovich's Eleven on Top and Adams vs. Jefferson by John Ferling. I've also finished a book that somehow snuck in there on me, People of the Moon by W. Michael Gear and Kathleen O'Neil Gear. Somehow or other I mixed up the dates when books were due at the libary and ended owing $.90 for overdue books, specifically, volume 4 of the Rhapsody series previous blogged. I magnanimously handed them a dollar and told them to keep the change and apply it all towards their building fund. I'm now listening to The Unhidden Truth by Kate Wilhelm. Too many books, too little time. Oh, I've asked the library to find me a copy of A Million Little Pieces by James Frey now that such controvery has erupted over his fanciful expansion of the memoir category to include outright fiction.

Reader's Reverie for January 2nd

2006-01-02T11:51:00.000-05:00

I don't want to let so much grass grow under my feet (or should I say snow pile up) that I neglect to post here for such a long time. I've decided to briefly mention what books I'm currently reading (or in the case of Audible.com) listening to. So, here goes. For pure fluff in the mind candy category I'm currently reading Requiem for the Sun, by Elizabeth Haydon, the sequel to her Rhapsody, Prophecy and Destiny trilogy. You can find more about her at elizbethhaydon.com. I enjoy a rollicking fantasy, although these books seem more to fall into a hybrid category of fantasy/romance. Lest anyone think me a reading lightweight, I continue to parse Jon Kabat-Zinn's Whereever You Go There You Are in the spirituality category. I'm also listening to Adams vs. Jefferson by John Ferling and learning about the origins of the split between the Republican (i.e. Jefferson) opposition to a strong central government, which was viewed as the fast track to monarchy, in direct oppostion to the Federalist (i.e. Adams) desire for a strong central government with a federal bank and the right to levy taxes. That's approximately 11 hour and 17 minutes of drivetime listening. Partisan politics, dirty campaign tricks and a contested presidential election. The more things change the more they remain the same.

Year end musings

2005-12-31T18:04:00.000-05:00

It's been awhile since I posted online. I got distracted by life again. I still plan on completing the Anthropology of Religion OpenCourseWare course, but must admit to getting side tracked by other books pertaining to Native American belief systems. I've piled up Native Religions and Cultures of North America: Anthropology of the Sacred by my bedside along with Vine Deloria, Jr.'s God is Red. Amazon.com can be very dangerous!

And, as if I hadn't purchased enough books to keep me distracted, my husband game me three more for Christmas: How Dogs Think: What the World Looks Like to Them and Why They Act the Way They Do by Stanley, Coren; a book on women's spirituality, Sexy Witch by LaSara Firefox; and Physics Demystified by Stan Gibilisco. Talk about an ecletic mix of reading material!

It's 6:04 pm on New Year's Eve, always a time to ponder the past and make numerous resolutions for the future. I've been to Jennifer Louden's ComfortQueen.com website earlier this week and downloaded her Inner Organizer. Part of its design is to help one focus on one's intention for the week. So, perhaps instead of making grand resolutions to last all year long, I'll try to come up with a weekly intention. Stay tuned.

We're going out to be with friends to welcome in the new year. Enjoy!

Still plugging away...

2005-11-16T21:27:00.000-05:00

I'm still plugging away at my OpenCourseWare course, the Anthropology of Religion. I continue to read the books I mentioned previously (Emile Durkhelim's The Elementary Forms of the Relgious Life and Benson Saler's Conceptualizing Religion). I couldn't find any of the recommended texts within the two library systems that I frequent, so I requested what I could find, The Dreamtime: Australian Aboriginal Myths in Paintings by Ainslie Roberts with text by Charles P. Mountford and The Spirit World (The American Indians) from Time-Life Books. I'm finding much that resonates within me when I read about Native American beliefs and their values of balance/imbalance or harmony/disharmony as opposed to the good/evil dichotomy found in western religions that I have known.

Tonight I found time to listen to Dr. Crapo's lecture on Chapter 2 of his book: Diversity and Unity in the World's Religions. And, lest anyone think that I'm not giving my brain some much neede downttime, I've also taken out a Tony Hillerman mystery involving retired Navajo tribal policeman, Joe Leaphorn. His writing was a gentle introduction to shamanic practices.

More to follow

2005-11-08T16:46:00.000-05:00

I watched Dr. Richley H. Crapo's lecture on "Religion: A multi-Faced Phenomenon" on my tiny, little QuickTime screen. It looked like he was taped while sitting in his office with his back to his bookcases. I think it will take me a little while to get used to multiple QuickTime downloads as a lecture, but, truly, I shouldn't complain about its quality for twice the price (free).

I received the last of my books order from alibris.com - Children of the Forest: Life with the Mbuti Pygmies by Kevin Duffy. He writes well. I found the part about the "molimo" referred to in Dr. Crapo's text as the most important Pygmy ceremony that is carried out so casually it doesn't look like a religious ritual.

I'm getting ready to dive into Chapter 2: Diversity and Unity in the World's Religions. More to follow.

OpenCourseWare - Books, books and more books

2005-11-05T13:23:00.000-05:00

I continue to be enthusiastic over my OpenCourseWare course, the Anthropology of Religion. I'm still working on all the resource material listed in the first chapter, Anthropological Viewpoints about Religion. (Question: How does a college student find the time to do all this and take other courses and indulge in all else that collegiate life has to offer? Answer: I suspect that they don't if they are anything like I was back in the late sixties and early seventies.) Now in my mid-fifties, I'm having a terrific time getting back into academia. I've listened to about a third of the videotaped lectures, trying out Quicktime versus Windows Media Player.

I learned more about the NoteTaker program last night and can now link directly to URLs from various internet sites that lend depth to any notes I take. It's a fascinating way to take notes - non-linear as need be. Much remains terra incognita in the various pull down menus, however.

Today the big excitement was our mail delivery which brought two packages courtesy of alibris.com: Emile Durkheim's The Elementary Forms of the Relgious Life and Benson Saler's Conceptualizing Religion. I'll be dipping into these tomes along with one received earlier this week: The Ritual Process: Structure and Anti-Structure by Victor Turner. Depending on how that goes, it might be a little awhile before I blog again!

OpenCourseWare - A New Enthusiam

2005-11-04T17:54:00.000-05:00

Well, the mindful blogging was a big bust. I simply cannot write that way (on or off the internet). I have to edit, refine, rethink, retool, cogitate and then some before anything goes out under my name. I didn't blog for over three months which was more than enough time to come up with a new enthusiasm: OpenCourseWare! The BOCES GED teacher at the jail where I work mentioned it while we were discussing Macintosh iBooks. He said that MIT had started it in a big way by putting all their courses online so people could audit by internet to obtain cultural enrichment. I checked it out and discovered that it wasn't just MIT. John Hopkins, Tufts University and a handful of others have decided to make some of their courses available online. I found one at Utah State University entitled Anthropology of Religion. The syllabus includes the text name, video lectures by Dr. Crapo (the text's author), other images and quizzes.

So, in the intervening blogless period, I've explored the online used textbooks store (I can't believe how much textbooks have gone up in price since I was in college!!). After securing the text, Anthropology of Religion: The Unity and Diversity of religions, I jumped into Chapter 1. Things have changed a great deal since I went to Eisenhower College in 1969. Besides giving a host of recommended readings, there is a list of recommended websites to peruse. I've been busy checking them out while trying to locate some of the recommended readings in the two public library systems I have access to. I could only find Carl Sagan's book, A Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark. I went back to alibris.com and found books by Emile Durkheim, Benson Saler and Victor Turner. Although I couldn't find the exact book by Bronislaw Malinowski, I was able to locate another appropriate book at the Internet Sacred Text Archive.

There's nothing like letting enthusiam rip. I decided to see how students now are taking notes and found NoteTaker by Aquaminds Software Corporation. There's a bit of a steep learning curve that comes along with the month-long demo. The interface isn't as intuitive as I would expect. But, anyway, I'm happily taking notes, listening to the lecture and reading my eyes raw - all for not a lick of credit, just the joy of learning.

Your start-up disk is almost full

2005-07-29T20:10:00.000-04:00

That's the message I've been getting ever since I somehow managed to sqeeeezzzee OS X Panther into my very old (circa 1999) iMac. Besides giving me a real incentive to think about buying a new laptop, that phrase, in another setting, gives me a visual of my mind being full of stuff. So much stuff. Busily thinking about other stuff. Other stuff in the past. Other stuff that hasn't happened yet - but might. As Yoda might have said, "...never your mind being where you are..."

What this seems to be leading to is a way to use this blog as a form of Writing Practice ala Natalie Goldberg's book, Writing Down the Bones. Since I threw out my back and haven't been going to Curves thrice weekly, I seem to have time to restart my mindfulness meditation practice. At the minimum these postings will serve to encourage me to continue with daily sitting practice (by noting when I have done same) and, at the sky's the limit, perhaps allowing me to finally write real truths as I experience them in writing practice.

I've found myself listening to podcasts by Zencast and have done 15 minutes of sitting both yesterday and today. I've been listening to Writing Down the Bones on my iPod and consider this a first attempt at writing practice.

Wish me luck!

Women's Rights

2005-07-19T12:15:00.000-04:00

Photo credit: Women's Rights Historical Park

Today's blog is in honor of the Women's Rights Convention which took place on July 19-20, 1848 in Seneca Falls, New York, not far from where I grew up. I attended the now defunct Eisenhower College in Seneca Falls, which served as the repository for Women's Rights historical items until Congress authorized the Women's Rights Historical Park in 1980. A Report of the Convention can be found here and a link to the National Historical Park website here.

For those that like their history fictional, Miriam Grace Monfredo has written a mystery entitled The Seneca Falls Inheritance which deals with life just prior to the Convention in 1848 and blends historical figures, such as Elizabeth Cady Stanton, with the mystery's main character, spinster librarian Glynis Tryon.

Sharing good gazebo fortune

2005-07-18T18:53:00.001-04:00

It's still hot and muggy here in rural, upstate New York. I'm grateful that we have a window air conditioner in the bedroom, but that can be so confining. (And, there are only so many things one can do in a bedroom!) Consequently, I've been spending time in our shady gazebo. It's nestled into apple, cherry and pine trees, with honeysuckle and raspberry plants behind. There are large trees further behind that shade it from the sun for much of the day. If there's a breeze, it catches it and the windchimes play. I've frequently found myself going out there with a good book to escape the heat in the house. There are wetlands a little further behind, but it's screened from mosquitoes. I've found myself being very grateful to have such a book nook at the far end of our property.
I've been sharing my good fortune with a fat and feisty woodchuck. You can see the hole he insists on keeping right below the door to the gazebo. I spent some time tossing all the stone back down that he had worked so hard to throw up, but each day I returned to the gazebo, he had cleared his tunnel all back out. My husband said that the woodchuck had chosen a highly defensible spot - no predator can sneak up on him there. It's also very dry. So, as long as he doesn't expand the hole to human size, we have a truce and peace reigns in the back lot.

A different kind of Cat

2005-07-15T20:35:00.000-04:00

It's been hot and humid, sweltering, stick to your chair weather for some time in upstate New York. Not at all conducive to cogitation with a computer keyboard in my library/computer room. (The only room in the house with air-conditioning is the bedroom - more information than you asked for, I know.) Tonight I've plugged in a portable fan, turned it on high and am basking in the baking breeze while I blog.

I've been remiss with my blogging. I started out so well, with such good intentions. Now days, even weeks, have passed between postings. Mea culpa. Life happened in the interim with good days and bad and those in between.

June 30th was one of the exciting times. My husband and I were passengers on the second "maiden" voyage of the Cat, the Rochester to Toronto fast ferry. From what I later read, there were 358 aboard including Rochester luminaries and, apparently, at least 20 members of the media. Everyone aboard had a chance to be interviewed. My husband spoke to WHAM and in the excitement of the interview, we forgot to say that it was our wedding anniversary. (Awwww!) The accommodations were delightful; the food the nautical equivalent of airplane fare.

As we were a bit late in leaving, the Captain cranked the engine speed up to 55 miles per hour. The resulting wake was amazing. We made excellent time, arriving in Toronto nearly on schedule. And yes, we plan to ride the ferry again.

Anyone for dream interpretation?

2005-06-23T12:12:00.000-04:00

Zeke, the oh so perfect appearing basset hound shown in my first blog posting, woke me up at 5:30 today, barking and scratching to be let into our bedroom. After I opened the door, I was able to fall back asleep - but the dream that then ensued was very vivid!

The dream: For some reason I found myself at a college reunion where I knew no one. I was sitting at a table for four and the pleasant looking professor in tweed next to me intoduced himself and then asked my name. When I told my name was La Vaughn Rynearson, he said, "Rynearson, like the flea soap?" Before I had a chance to respond, an officious gray-haired lady appeared and said the reunion was over and the tables were needed elsewhere. She immediately picked up our table and walked off with it, leaving us to put away our folding chairs. With little or no transition, I found myself leading my long-departed red Honda CRX on a leash up a steep, slippery, snow-covered hill. It took some coaxing, but eventually the car crested the hill. The next thing I knew, I was in a resort hotel and had knocked down a portion of a display of items for sale in the hotel store. I wandered around and quickly found myself lost. (It didn't help that the hotel layout seemed to resemble a spiral snail shell.) I suddenly discovered that I had misplaced my purse and thus my keys to home, car and work. I found a friendly face (one of the correction officers I work with in jail) and she directed me to the lost and found department. After locating my purse, I went about my business only to discover that I had somehow, again, misplaced my purse. This time, I explained the siutation to my supervisor at work, but she didn't seem to think it was a real problem. As soon as I could, I got away and determined I had left my purse in a building that could be seen across a muddy field. I slogged through mud past my ankles that spattered my clothing until I reached my destination. I must have looked like a something the cat dragged in, because the hotel employees didn't seem to want me in their lobby. That's when I woke up very grateful to discover that my purse was safe and sound on my bedroom bureau.

WHAT on earth could this mean (aside from an indication that I have a more than slightly over-active brain)? If you'd care to offer an interpretation, please feel free!

Solstice questions

2005-06-22T20:02:00.000-04:00

The summer solstice seems to have come and gone. I wanted to make note of it, but wasn't sure if it was yesterday or today even after checking numerous online sources. That's a sad commentary on a day that was once one of humankind's most important celebrations. As the longest day of the year, that amount of daylight was truly meaningful in our ancestors' struggle against the encroaching cold and darkness.

I keep track of the increasing hours and minutes of sunlight on my start-up webpage. I'm not sure why I do this since I can easily have light whenever I flick a switch. Perhaps it's an atavistic response to a need to be aware of natural light. Or the recognition of small increments of something both positive and pleasant. I find myself watching and appreciating every minute of sunlight that is added to each new day's accumulation. Today's total: 15 hours and 26 minutes. You'd think this should be a time to rejoice and sing, but my mind inverts its meaning. It's all downhill from here. Less and less light until December 22nd. Why am I seeing an ending in what is actually an on-going cycle?

Mindful purring

2005-06-21T12:05:00.000-04:00

Since I've blogged about our basset, Zeke, I need to give our cat, Zak (short for Zachariah Tailchaser) a blog debut as well. Zak can be very affectionate, especially when it gets close to "time to wake up and feed me" early in the morning. You'd be surprised how quickly one can move when eighteen pounds of purring cat lands on a full bladder. After eating catfood and drinking milk, Zak's next most favorite activity is sleeping on top of me while I'm trying to read. He also enjoys sitting on a meditation cushion with me. He's probably closer to enlightenment than I am, if his mindful purring is any indication.

Well, wadda ya know?

2005-06-20T12:24:00.000-04:00

I've been spending some time getting to know myself a little better by sporadically filling out my profile page. You know - stuff like "favorite movies", "interests", "favorite music". When I finally decided to look at my partially completed user profile, I discovered that those interests, movies and types of music that I had entered were clickable and actually would take me to the profiles of fellow afficianados. Much to my suprise, there were numerous individuals who had listed the operas Carmen and Aida. Even more amazingly, there was one person who had also listed Tanglefoot as a favorite group and one who had likewise listed the Sons of the Neverwrong. I first heard both of these musical groups at the Oswego Music Hall several years ago. Both are from the sub-genre of folk music which meant to me that it was likely no one on Blogger had heard of them. Well, wadda ya know? I was wrong!

Not only that, but I discovered blogger profiles for such classic movies as Duel in the Sun and The African Queen. It looks like I've found a host of compatriot spirits online. I'll try and contact some and see where we go from here.

The pressure's on

2005-06-19T11:23:00.000-04:00

And I thought writing my first post was hard. It's not. It's the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 99th or 1,300th! What to write about? Eloquent epitaphs or edifying editorials have never been my style. I tend toward a more light and easy humor and try to see something daily along those lines. So, without further ado, today's posting: how does one choose one's favorite movies for a blog profile? Should I choose movies that I've seen repeatedly (bought the DVD, taped for future viewing)? Or should I choose movies that have made an emotional impact (guaranteed to make me cry)? Should I choose movies that are associated with an occasion of importance? Or movies that I've seen every multiple episode of? And what constitutes a "favorite" anyway? I've been watching movies for over a half-century. The 1st movie I ever saw - Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was my favorite when I was four. Now I'd say that Shrek is more to my taste! And how do people remember the names of all those movies? I clearly remember Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy in a movie pitting her memory/researching ability against a computer, but I can't retrieve the title for love nor money.

In any case, I've made an effort and have come up with a list of favorites for my profile and, coincidentally, completed my second blog posting!

With a basset beneath my feet

2005-06-18T12:53:00.000-04:00

As I write this first post, my basset hound, Zeke, is at my feet wagging his tail, not knowing that he is about to become immortalized in my blog. It's been a tough day for him so far. Every time he's gone outside he gets his big bassett paws wet because of the much needed rain that's falling. When he comes back inside the house, he's quarantined until his paws dry off. And, like many of us, he wants to be where he's not: in/out, out/in. Consequently, he's had a number of "time-outs" today. I'm just grateful not to find myself similarly quarantined for my vacillations.