closure......

ok, so i finished the graduation afghan this afternoon......fringe and all.......it is more square than rectangular....and the patterns goes horizontally rather than vertically......but it is done, it is lovely....and i am pleased to have completed a project in same season it was started.....this is not the norm in my family.......now if only i could finish all of the other pesky projects that lie in wait around this house.........

edible mmmix

ok, so some mixes are edible......the ones that one concocts from less-than-ripe pears, sweet peppers, vidalia onions, mustard seeds, blueberries and raisins........and lots of vinegar and sugar....it is simmering on the stove as we speak...i am envisioning it as a side to grilled chicken and couscous......after it has been canned and aged....of course....there will be some to give away as small gifts....i have smaller pot simmering with sliced pears, sugar and orange juice......hoping the simmering will soften them up enough to make a tart for supper.......i had planned to make blueberry/pear jam.....but the pears that so burden the branches of our single fruit-bearing tree are not quite ripe.......at least not enough for jam......and they are soooooooosmall......imagine yourself peeling and slicing a basket of golf-balls........that is precisely why i have put off the jam.....for another day........martha stewart would have waited to pick these pears until the perfect moment.....even if it meant cooking and canning throughout the night......but i am made of flimsier stuff than martha, i suppose.......

hanging out with ellen and dr. phil......

ok, so in my quest to complete this afghan, i sat on the sofa with my knitting.....and watched the second half of dr. phil....and all of ellen.....both appeared to be reruns....as the audience in dr phil had on sweaters with fur collars......and ellen did a very special valentine's segment......but since i am so rarely home for daytime television.....i watched anyway.......dr. phil's topicoftheday was prenups.....and he appeared to have covered all the bases.....with a couple whose male partner would not sign a prenup that excluded him from the nest egg the female had set aside for her children's education.....he could have half of everything else, but not that....and this chump wouldn't sign, even though he claimed to not be in the marriage for her money.........hmmmmmm......the audience booed and hissed at that guy......it was great television.......and then there was a wealthy woman, whose even wealthier husband tobe showed up with a prenup after the wedding invitations had been sent and the wedding arrangements made.....and she refused to sign because of the way he tried to bully her into doing it....and because he wanted her to pay only half of all their expenses even though he was moving into her house and he was selling his own house for a huge profit..........and because his house was his before the marriage, that was excluded in the prenup....as was anything he would earn during their marriage.......what fool would have signed that?......he sounded like a semi-spounge who had lots of assets because he hoarded them......and then came ellen.........who surprised a couple with 2 young children and one on the way...with as valentine's surprise......she brought a picnic snack for them to eat while she cleaned their house and set out take-out supper and champagne......and even brought along rod stweart to serenade.......the part where ellen cleaned house was priceless.......as she came across their liquor cabinet.....and poured herself a huge glass of gin.......and stuffed the kids toys under the sofa.....and tried her hand at their ski machine.........and even looked inside the mamma's purse.....i guess i am easily amused.......but i digress from the afghan.......i am sewing on the last 4 panels....i say last because i am not making any more....if this afghan is not yet big enough to suit....then the recipient will just have to skrunch down underneath it until it is big enough........maybe if i make the fringe extra long.................

procrastination.....

ok, so this was on my synchronized pda this morning......i include it as part of my current procrastination activities....i may be the only persaon in the world, at this very moment....who is not enjoying the kite runner......and is going to these extremes to avoid finishing said book.....

from the washington post yesterday.....

More Honorable Mentions from Week 617 of The Style Invitational, in which entrants had to write about a famous personage using only the letters in the person's name:

Neil Armstrong: Not long ago, I'm in a sim trainer going nine G's. Imagine it, nine G's! -- I'm a man's man! So, I tell 'em I'm raring to go, again. Not so smart, see. Later on, all alone, I lose it in a latrine! Still, I'm as eager as a sailor on a rising sea, so NASA treats me to a mission to man's largest satellite: Moon. I'm game. . . . It's nearing T-time, so I settle in, set toggles, test signals, ignite engines. In no time at all, I'm going, going, gone! I soar among a million stars. It's great! Time goes on. I see I'm almost in range, so I ease Eagle, in slo-mo, settling in a mare ("sea" in moon lingo). In a rare moment, it's all me, so I start orating, "One small . . . one giant . . ." Rats! I'm losing it -- senior moment. Google it. Gotta go, it's Geritol time. (Kyle Hendrickson, Frederick)

Paris Hilton has all that hair, is tall, thin, a porn star (sorta). Still, Paris isn't all that hot. (Russell Beland, Springfield)

James Dobson, the conservative minister: O God, omens bode bad mojo, so end dames' boob, abdomen and nose jobs, bobbed manes and jeans on demon bods. Ban moans on beds, Onan men and Sodom sods. And damn Bob Jones. Amen. (Peter Metrinko, Chantilly)

Alfred Kinsey: Kinky freaks, randy elders, desireless ladies, afraid fairies, self-diddlers -- I seen all kinds. (Brendan Beary, Great Mills)

Arnold Schwarzenegger: A rare ego, a shrewd career. A lecher, he ogles gals galore, and lewd hands anger gals (careless!). Gals endanger win; so he does Leno: Leno endorses, enhances news angle. Snares win: Arrogance rewarded. (Jane Auerbach, Los Angeles)

Gwyneth Paltrow: New year. Pregnant. What now, "Pear"? (Judith Cottrill, New York)
Terri Schiavo: The harsh rhetoric, the "Save Terri" services, the rosaries, the crosses, the "she sees"/"she hears" theories, the tests, the irate voices, the threats, the hoots, the cheers, the chaos, the sheer theatrics, the heartache, the horror. These are over. She's at rest. (Chris Doyle)

George Donner: Deer gone. Dog gone. Gorged on Roger. Doggone good! (Elwood Fitzner, Valley City, N.D.)

Alice Roosevelt Longworth: She's not the chilliest girl on the Hill. Oh no, she's a riot. All want to watch how she chitchats with the social elite: her strong insights, how she nails the overweening, how she groans at all Washington inanities. She wastes no chances to view all with her laser lorgnette

whachadoin?.......

ok, so i have finally returned from picking up my daughter from the camp bus........i arrived 15 minutes early and the bus was 45 minutes late......so it takes no rocket scientist to figure out that i am hot and annoyed.....yet still mildly amused...imagine sitting in a sedan, with the windows all electronically lowered to max breeze......with a car on either side.......in much the same condition.......this state of affairs is similar to working in a cubicle....everything said is heard by everybody else......and so i was surprised when the woman to my right proceeded, in her boredom....to run through her cell phoen directory looking for someone with which to chat.......each of her many conversations went something like this....

'whachadoin?........me?........sitting in this blessed car waiting for sarabeth to get back from camp.......the bus justy passed through crab orchard.....ti will be at least another 20 minutes.......'

the car to the left was worse.....this lady had celine dion blasting.....well, to be fair anything above a high c is enough celine for my taste.......and so i sat in the middle, quietly reading washington post highlights on my pda......luckily the car adapter was on-board........and then the bus came......and we waited another 20 minutes for the counselors to first...pass out medications in labeled plastic bags........and then for each child to be matched up with someone whose driver's liscense matched up with the camp information form......oyvey.......

but i digress from whachadoin?.......clearly i am lacking such a rich social life when i can think of only a handful of people that i would be so bold as to call during the day to say whachadoin?...... and even then i would have to have had a pressing reason to call them in the first place.......i must admit that i am not a chatty phone person......so i am unprepared to see others who are so comfortable with that breezy format........and who could be so methodical in the lineup of queries, comments, etc.........could have been scripted......maybe that is a niche market............phone call scenarios for the socially challenged.........top ten lists of safe conversations starters, fillers, wrapituplines.........hmmmmmm............maybe i am on to something here...........but back to the woman in the sedan to the right..........she never seemed to tire of these conversations....after the third i lost count........when there was a lull between calls.....her phone rang......meow.....meow.........it was too funny......when she answered.....oh hi, ....i have been trying to get ahold of you.....i left you a message but you never called me back.......duh..................

friday....

ok, so there are few words that can evoke the same emotion as friday......the physical burst of anticipation that one feels at the very thought of friday, especially friday at the close of business......pack up your stuff and head home.......i say this as someone who had no friday, per se....for 4 solid years.......friday was just a day that was followed by work on saturday and sometime sunday......and on to monday......with no real downtime.....and to have friday afternoon to myself, before the weekend even starts.......wow...maybe the next 2 days will be cool enough for some outdoor activities.......i feel cooped up with all of the 105 heat index days........

cool-wave

ok,so the weather hss eased up a tad......to hot down a few notches from scorching....just intime for my weekend .......

requires sedation......

ok, so mm is in a worried sick ............the eledest will be in ireland for the next 2 weeks......and the reality that said child is on his own is just too much for me just now......i checked my e-mail this morning first thing.....just in case he were to have found a cybercafe immediately upon landing in dublin to let me know he was there safely........yeahyeahyeah......i am the one with the problem....the not wanting to let my children venture from the nest......but seriously, a mother will always retain the perogative of worry over the safety/happiness of her children.......even after they reach the age of majority.........and so until mid august, i shall require sedation in order to get by.......so as to not lay awake at night pondering all of the details that could go wrong with this trip........oy.....

doonesbury....

ok, so i don't read doonesbury faithfully.....not near as often as i should......or i would have noticed tuesday's strip which contained the following.....

(Bush and an aide are lamenting the problems the administration has had over allegations that Rove leaked the name of a CIA officer to reporters.)

Bush says, "Karl's sure been earnin' his nickname lately."

The unnamed aide says, "Boy Genius? I'm not so sure sir ..."

Bush then says, "Hey Turd Blossom! Get in here."

gary trudeau didn't make that up.....it really is one of bush's pet names for his handmaiden rove.....but some papers opted to cleanse the strip by taking out the nickname....and others pulled it alltogether......the lexington paper is on teh lbieral side....so it ran as was ...not an issue for the danville paper which has not carried it in my memory........i find it humerous that many folks likely missed it until the story ran about how it had been censored.......and that is what always happens when censorship raises its ugly head......everybody wants to be reading what is too naughty to read......frankly, the nickname may be one the of few things that dubya got right............

'i do love knitting patterns..."

ok, so this quote from dumbledore is my favorite....as it appeals to me as a closet crafter.....and portrays dumbledore in the same light......maybe he has an afghan going......i am on the panel that i claim to be my absolute last.............youyabelieveme?

put your hands on the television.....

ok,so today i had a client to admit to something that i would never have fessed up to if i were in her place........placing my hands on the television to pray during the sevenhundred club broadcast........omg.....pun intended.......she wanted to quit smoking......and when prompted to voice her needs, she put her hands upon the television and prayed along with the tvangelist....for freedom from nicotine....and overnight she was cured of her habit........this before she asked those little words to which i have grown so accustomed over the years in this region......are you a christian.....gentle readers........i am always amazed by the brashness in which some people interrupt an otherwise smooth counseling session on diabetes, or whatever.....to ask me if i have been saved.......i must remember this day, if ever i feel the need to step down as sunday school teacher.....because it is quite useful to offer up my status as a sunday school teacher when clients try to stray the conversation away from sugar and toward salvation........

vivid dreams.....

ok, so my dreams of late have been technicolor......and so memorable that the brilliant yellow of the flowers i picked in back of a garage 2 nights ago are still in my brain......as well as the difficulty in doing so....i had to get clippers because the stems turned out to be florist-wired to keep them perfectly erect.........an interesting detail to be recalled at this late date.......i recall that last night i dreamed that i was moving into an apartment with someone named michelle, who had a boyfriend named tom....and i looked him square in the face to make sure it was not the tom i dated in grad school......and this woman had already filled every room with her stuff before i got there......and there was a single bed in the room that was to be mine....and she batted her eyelashes at me and asked if i minded........and the kitchen was in the loft of this apartment, rather than on the main floor, so all of the groceries had to to be lugged up steep steps.......where does this stuff come from?.........why would my sub-aware mind feel a need to express an emotion so acute as annoyance over groceries carried up steep steps.......and why would i choose to remember florist wired yellow flowers........though it does bring to mind my desire to see willywonka........johnny depp seems the image of jacko in this picture.....it is too funny.......frankly, i would rather go back to sleep perchance to dream than to go to work today..........

jolt.......

ok, so this morning, my coffee with cream tasted just like a cafe creme from a paris sidewalk table.......that curious balance of bitterness and creaminess that is specific to paris.......funny how an aroma, or a flavor can take transport in ways more experiential than photographs......i bringup aromas because i also have brief yet poignant paris moments when confronted with the smell of cold diesel fumes.........the same overpowering odors one smells when one had to leave one's hotel early to catch a specific train to the destination of the day.......the sunshine must evaporate these airborne molecules......because paris in the afternoon is a completely different packet of aromas........but i digress from my coffee.......a flavor combination that will not come my way anytime soon......today was just the cosmic luckofthedraw......of just how mnay grains of coffee went into the filter, and how many drops of halfandhalf were poured into the mug as i was glancing over the newspaper headline.......impossible to recreate.......but enough to savor for a few moments before i drag myself away from this reverie to a day of work........which has many smells and tastes associated with it.....none memorable.......

void.......

ok, so this evening, when we would have settled in to watch the tour on tape.....there will be no tape......and no tour, even to look-up online.......we did joke briefly about getting my mom to tape survivor, which was ballyhooed by oln as its followup to the tour....but that is not something we watched the first time.......and not worth turining on the television for, i suppose........and so we will go back to not watching tv at night......and get caught up on reading and other pursuits.......yes, there is baseball........must support boston in its pursuit of a second world series, but this year i am secretly rooting for the chicago white sox.....who are having a steller season..........anybody except the nyyankees..........but since we son't get cable, i can only follow baseball online.........luckily i have a stack of books to finish, an afghan calling my name.......time is running out on that project......and, i could exercise.........so there really isn't a void.........when i think about it......

ok, so oln.tv neglected to include tmobile accepting the team win.......i suppose because they are a german team rather than an american one......though half of amercia uses tmobile phones.......these guys were awesome.....vinekourov (in baby blue for kahzakstan.....) kloden, ullricch, guernni, sevilla....so many talented riders who worked very hard to stay ahead of discovery and csc......i am glad they they got their time to shine on the champs........next year.....maybe vino will come ride for discovery........... 

separation of church and state.....

ok, so i heard a oneofakind sermon today at church.....one that could only come from a substitute pastor.......as few pastors who want to settle into their jobs would dare give such a rousing 17 minute rant on the history of the baptists, beginning with the anabaptists....and the notion that at the time of the reformation......the anabaptists differed from the calvinists and the lutherans on the issue of baptism......that one could only be truly baptised when one could make that decision personally, rather than by parental decision soon after birth..they also believed in the preisthood fo the believer..that all men and women may stand in front of god/commune with god on their own, without the need of an intermediary, like a priest, to speak for them.....and so they were persecuted....imprisoned, burned, etc........and tossed out of most of the colonies except for rhode island......which offered relgious freedoms that original colonies like mass, va, etc did not.....puritans may have left england for religious freedom, but they thought everybody else ought to do things their way when they became top dogs........which brings us to now.....when the folks in power think that everybody else ought to do things their way now that they are top dogs...this preacher actually used the phrase.......opportinistic politicians...to describe those in congress and the white house who would tack the 10 commandments up on the courthouse walls if it will get them more votes, not because it is historically correct .......forgetting that baptists like a reverand leland in virginia convinced thomas jefferson of the need to specifiy religion as separate from government so as to keep the minority free to worship as they saw fit.....the baptists at the time were in the minority.....and now that they see themselves as powerful enought to flex their muscle.,.......well,, they seem to have forgotten at what sacrifice they got to this very moment........i must add that this fellow is a phd trained theologian and retired pastor from texas who lives in danville and has started a moderate seminary in lexington.........it was one of the more moving sermons for pure affirmation of my personal belief system that i could have ever wished for......and i told him so when i shook his hand afterwards......folks this courageous need positive feedback......a rampantly conservative fellow that runs sits behind us with his family....he is the kind of fellow who believes in creationism,.....and doubts the theory of evolution.......he and my spouse were deep in debate as we were leaving....at least he got to hear some hard, historical fact, rather than theory....about where we have come, so we know where we should go.....as a church...and as a nation

ok, so c'est #7 pour lance.........et adeiu........salut! 

living legacies........

ok, so yesterday my eldest dropped off 100+ books for storage...he and his housemates are moving next door.....and these are books that he doesn't want them to have to move for him......he will be away at a writer's workshop in ireland when the move comes.......and this juxtaposition has me questioning just what is important to me as a parent.......for starts...i look at these stacks of books with pride.....an eclectic array of poetry, novels, language-learning texts....history.......i have nurtured a reader.....a lifelong reader.....a living legacy, so to speak to all that is important to me about books, and writing, and the recording of one's feeling/thoughts/details........but then i recall the weeks of anquish/worry/fretting that i have fallen victim to over this same trip abroad......the creation of an intinerary for said child, complete with specific transfer directions, reservation confirmations, train connections, must-see sights............and this makes me ashamed....that i am not ready to allow my children the travel-savvy legacy i claim from my father..............and that i have taken over for him concening this trip rather than trust that he will somehow manage to make it from the airport to the hostel without being robbed/lost/soldtogypsies.........i will come back to this thought after church......i have many more feelings to explore on this subject......but it is time to go to sunday school............

john kerry

ok, so we were pleasantly surprised, part-way through the taped coverage of stage 20's time trial around st. ettienne....that senator and former presidential candidate john kerry was in attendence.......he is a good friend of armstrong, and had flown over to be there for the end of the tour......the oln interview with kerry was precious.......he admitted to watching last year's tour in the same taped/ffthroughcommercials venue that we prefer.......all through his campaign stops last july........he was savvy enough with oln coverage to quip that he started to include bob roll's hand gestures in his stump speeches.....such an articulate guy.....when asked to comment on armstrong's likely venture into politics......he spoke of armstrong's story and how well that will resonate with voters........and said that he would be a staunch supportor.....as long as he chose the right party......he should have said correct party....but i digress........too bad we couldn't have a president like kerry.....who somehow managed a 12 minute interview without somebody to feed him the answers.......ah well.......

nannies.......

ok, so i copied and pasted this entire salon.com article....rather than linked it, because of those pesky salon.com tucker carlson ads..........why my fascination with this nanny thing?........i, who have no nanny, will never need a nanny.....couldn't afford a nanny if i did need one......it has to do more with the paidstaff/master issue..........while i have been away from the subserviant cook/caterer role for nearly a year, i am still licking some wounds from the ordeal........i believe my snub from mitch mcconnell at a republican fundraiser that i catered has been blogged previously.......i won't rehash it all now.......but i do know what is feels like to deal with folks who expect everybody who works for them, in whatever capacity, to be at once adoring of them, yet less than them......less intelligent/educated, witty, talented, traveled, wealthy/powerful (not too difficult....)connected, etc......but i digress from this intriguing article.....it is long, but it is sunday, gentle readers,......and you probably have the day off........

The Chronicles of Nanny-a
Sex, class, age, power and Jude Law -- two melodramas about parents and their domestic help have it all, and leave us feeling a little dirty, too.

- - - - - - - - - - - -
By Rebecca Traister

July 24, 2005 | It's not often you get two nanny maelstroms in one week. Nannies, after all, often fly under the radar as invisible laborers, changing diapers, taking kids to school, making life easier for the parents who hire them.

But this week, nannies are news. First came a New York Times story in Sunday's "Modern Love" column by a mother who fired her full-time babysitter after reading her blog; it provoked an angry blogged response from the canned caretaker. Just a day later, news broke that "Alfie" dog Jude Law had cheated on his fiancée with his kids' nanny.

The stories are very different, but they both highlight an uncomfortable condition of middle- and upper-class life that we don't like to talk about very much. It's incredibly hard to wrap our heads around the tricky contradictions and muddled ways we view the people -- usually female, with varying degrees of education, money and racial advantages -- who help parents privileged enough to employ them balance the responsibilities of work, social life and child rearing. It's a powder-keg relationship, packed with class, gender and age anxieties, doused with the lighter fluid of psychological transference and jealousy. When it explodes, as it has in these two cases, neither nannies nor mommies nor jilted girlfriends come out looking good.

The "Modern Love" piece, by Helaine Olen, tells of how Olen started reading the blog of her family nanny, Tessy (as she refers to herself in her blog). Olen describes Tessy as a "26-year-old former teacher with excellent references," as if she were a horse-trader selling a mare with pearly white incisors. Her dismay at what she found in her well-bred babysitter's online diary makes her envious and critical of Tessy's social and sexual life, as well as doubtful about the young woman's devotion to the family.

Olen writes of her shock at learning that Tessy -- who spoke of going to graduate school! -- engaged in deviant behavior like touching her own breasts while reading the New Yorker, having sex with men and women, expressing erotic curiosity about pundit Tucker Carlson and actress Jennifer Ehle, drinking alcohol and taking sleeping pills. All of this on her own time, off the babysitting clock, but still ... Tucker Carlson?

Olen's dismay at these activities betrays her sense of surprise that a woman who pursues an advanced degree might also have desires, quirks, pleasures, breasts. In short, it came as a shock that Tessy's nannyhood did not preclude her humanity.

But of course what Olen feels (and to her credit, acknowledges that she feels) is jealousy of Tessy's youth, her energy, her unencumbered and active sex life -- all of which she writes she used to have herself, before her marriage and her kids. Olen even admits that in the past, she'd been comfortable listening to the woes of previous babysitters who'd had abortions or had their hearts broken by unfaithful men. "Those were problems I could feel superior to and that made me feel grateful for the steady routine of marriage and children."

The trouble is, it's not a babysitter's job -- any more than it is a housekeeper's or a pool boy's or an office mate's job -- to make an employer feel secure about herself. A babysitter's job is to provide care for the children.

Olen's description of Tessy indicates that she is possibly of the same economic caste as her employer. But Olen's staggering assumptions about her relationship with Tessy reveal how she conceptualizes class. That Olen should not feel in any way threatened by someone who works for her -- simply because she works for her -- is a major leap from the reasonable assumption that she should receive services from the person she pays. As for the moral lines we draw around things like marriages and bonds with children, they are certainly blurrier; but Olen gives no indication that Tessy violated those. Olen says that Tessy made her doubt herself; that's a transgression only if the base assumption is that those who work for us are, and should be by definition, less than we are in every way.

It's also clear that part of what chafes at Olen was the fact that Tessy did not use her blog as a forum in which to extol the joys of caring for her children. "Most parents don't like to think the person watching their children is there for a salary," she writes. Perhaps she thinks they show up every day for the spiritual uplift of cleaning up her children's vomit. Has she considered the pesky matter of making a living? "We often build up a mythology of friendship with our nannies, pretending the nanny admires us and loves our children so much that she would continue to visit even without pay," she writes.

Sure, many of us former babysitters have built lasting friendships with the parents and children whose lives we entered. But that's not in the contract, lady.

My horror at Olen's piece was amplified by Tessy's blogged rebuttal, posted after the Times piece. Tessy, it turns out, is about to start a Ph.D. program concentrating on the late Victorian novel, which is pretty funny, since in her piece Olen had dismissed the nanny's interest in literature with casual "I used to read books too back when I was a self-indulgent single person" facility.

Tessy's response to Olen's assertions includes links to the entries that Olen describes in her story. The nanny's alleged "offbeat erotic fantasies involving Tucker Carlson" stem from a riff on how political frustration with conservative Carlson reminds Tessy of the sexual friction in a Jane Austen novel. Tessy says that what Olen called her "semi-promiscuous couplings" during her five-month nannying stint were hampered by the two and a half months she spent celibate. Her sleeping pills are over the counter from Target. Her crush on Jennifer Ehle is inspired by the actor's appealing turn as Elizabeth Bennett in A&E's adaptation of "Pride and Prejudice."

It's easy to imagine 7,000 New York mothers jockeying to get this woman on their own domestic payroll.

The nanny's response also tackles less funny problems with Olen's essay, such as Olen's expression of fear that Tessy might judge her boring married life. "This might be hard for Ms. Olen to understand, considering this article reveals that she lives in an insular world where everything is about HER, but I didn't judge her life," writes the nanny. "She employed me to care for her children. Her choices? Her compromises? Not my business." What Olen was trying to do, Tessy argues, was paint the young nanny as "anti-mother and anti-children." Tessy claims that she is neither, pointing readers to posts about her desire to one day be a mother herself.

For good measure, Tessy explains that while she is eager to set the record straight about her own promiscuity, she wants to be clear that she "will defend any woman's right to sleep with whomever, whenever she wants. Ms. Olen is shocked by a single woman who has and talks about sex ... One of the most disappointing things about this essay is the way it suggests that a woman who thinks about sex ... [is] not fit to care for children. Ridiculous."

Amen. But for other deeply twisted nanny news, we need look no further than the peculiar melodrama being played out across the pond by actor Jude Law, his nanny Daisy Wright, his onetime fiancée Sienna Miller and his ex-wife Sadie Frost.

It's all very tangled, but mercifully, everyone involved seems anxious to see it unfold on the pages of tabloids, so we've got lots of information to work with. Here's a condensed version: A couple of years ago, Law left Frost (reportedly suffering from postpartum depression after the birth of their third child) for the much younger Miller, a beanpole ingénue and his costar in the remake of "Alfie." Law and Miller (whose career has since blossomed along with her heir-of-Gwyneth reputation as designer clotheshorse) got engaged.

Then, while Law was filming a remake of "All the King's Men," 26-year-old nanny Wright brought his kids to see him on the set just after Miller had jetted off for an acting project of her own. Law was feeling lonely, so, within a day of Wright's arrival, he had sex with her. Unfortunately, one of his young children walked in on Daddy and Daisy in bed. (Apparently Law told him to go back to bed, then rolled over and had sex with Wright again.) The Law-Frost spawn squealed to his mother back in London; Frost promptly sacked Wright, who just as promptly sold her diary to the London papers.

Law soon confessed publicly; Miller's mother told reporters that Law is "so stupid." Not to be left out, Frost got on the horn with a British paper and offered to comfort Miller, the sylph she was jilted for. "I have all sorts of advice for her," said Frost. Mm-hmm. We bet she does.

Miller, the only lead in this saga not to have called a reporter yet, has been seen in London without her engagement ring.

But there are dismal side effects of this diverting summer sudser. Most alarming is that rather than considering the possibility that Law might be something of a cad, not to say a major-league asshole, the press, with help from the relevant players, has set about dismantling both Wright and Miller.

Wright's account of the affair begins when Law whines to her about his beloved Miller's commitment to work and social life. Wright wrote, "I said to Jude I didn't understand why he didn't find a wife who didn't want a career and to party all the time ... He said ... he would love that more than anything." A seriously pissed friend of Miller's has confirmed this angle of the story, claiming that Law explained his straying to his fiancée by saying, "I told you I needed you to be there for me."

It's a charming rehash of this year's Brad Pitt-Jennifer Aniston boy-meets-girl fable in which girl selfishly insists on carrying on with her own career and refusing to tend to boy's every need. What's boy to do but diddle the babysitter on a pool table?

It's also the oldest story in the book, an embarrassing cliché: the needy male taking comfort in the unthreatening (and often younger, though not in this case, since if Law went younger than 23-year-old Miller he'd be on a perilous legal ledge) woman whose sole professional function is to do the domestic work of child care. Babysitters are, after all, women who are paid not to go to offices, or movie sets, or anywhere else that might smack of competition or abandonment. Their job is to stay safely at home. Foxy, right?

Right, according to the New York Post, which on Wednesday ran a story tastefully headlined "Come to Papa," asserting that "many New York wives don't understand why anyone would invite a Daisy Wright into the house; they want someone older, and preferably homely." The scare tactics of the story -- Beware the hot nanny and her vagina dentata! -- was so ludicrous that Gawker ran an item lampooning it: "Any nanny who's even slightly attractive is clearly a husband-fucking varmint ... Besides, everyone knows that the best domestic servants are the ugly ones. It's God's way."

But hot-nanny Wright didn't stay hot for long, and on Thursday, the Post ran a cover shot of Wright with the blaring headline: "Hey Jude, what were you thinking? Nanny ain't no movie star." The thesis of this delicate piece of prose was in its second paragraph, when reporter Bill Hoffman wrote: "Even all tarted up for a photo shoot for London's Mirror newspaper, nanny Daisy Wright looks more like a late-night belt-notch than a top-shelf taste worth scrapping an engagement to a gorgeous A-list actress" for.

Classy.

For the many working women who can't afford child care, there are costs much steeper than the pestilential plague of nannies. But the double frenzy of the past week reminds us that we're not yet beyond punishing women who choose not to stay home, and who are lucky enough to be able to hire someone else to fill in their blanks. We cannot let them carry on the balancing act of career, family and love life without menacingly suggesting that their help might just fill in their blanks too well.

And those who take on the job of caring for other women's children -- for financial reasons, or because it is their calling -- face a double bind. Be good, but don't be too good. Be smart, but don't be too smart. Take care of needs, but not too many needs.

After all, it remains vital that we be able to marginalize and look down on the people who raise our kids -- mothers and nannies both. What would happen if we ever started looking up to them?

- - - - - - - - - - - -

and chew gum at the same time

ok,so I am attempting to blog while waliking on treadmill....pda easy to hold but typing problematic.....oy...

critical conversation.....

ok, so we had a brief but critical conversation this morning before my spouse left the house....well, not that critical but one that warrants further exploration later on.....to set the stage, a good friend of ours was set to go to iowa to ride the annual ragbrai event..with his lovely bride....a stage bike ride across the state that attracts all sorts of folks....our friends the morgans went as a family....they have gone before with others from danville....collectively their team is called the stray dogs...they print up shirts.....but i digress....the ride is nor a race as much as it is a moveable feast....towns along the way use the selling of breakfast, lunch, snacks, dinner, and all manner of libations as organizational fundraisers......and particpants camp in places like fairgrounds, school football fields, community parks, etc.......all well and good, except that our friend had 3 stints put in on thursday.....and was seriously considering driving to iowa against medical advice on saturday.......and there is where the conversation started....about whether tis nobler to live life on the edge, or to play it safe........carpe diem with bandages still covering the wounds from the heart cath......hmmmm........yes, our friend had been planning this adventure for 2 years...he and his wife had trained for it, were psyched for it......and is now deeply disappointed.......i understand this......but i also have an opinion on the subject based on personal experience.......my middle child attempted this ride, with the stray dogs 5 years ago......started out the first day with a bit of a sore throat, and failed to drink enough fluid because it hurt to swallow.....and ended up in the emergency room in the small town of greenville, iowa......a singlestory concrete block building with one nurse's station.......because this ride moves on daily........our friends were forced to leave out boy alone in the hospital until we were able to arrive.......the call came about 11:00 pm....we got right in the car and drove all night...passed by the st.louis arch at dawn....and located the hospital midafternoon.......iowa is not a place to go knowing that your health is fragile.......no matter how fit or determined a person may be.....this ride doesn't tend to go past major medical centers......it favors the small towns with lovely views of cornfields........an idyllic place to ride a bike, with 6,000 other folks, but not a place to prove that one is invincible......the ride happens every year........this is not the last chance for such an experience........and the part of the conversation with my spouse that sticks in my mind is the part of about how he admires folks to live on the edge.......and though he did say that he would not have gone to iowa having just been discharged from the hospital with stints........there is till doubt my mind that he wouldn't have seriously considered going ......fortunately, this is a bridge that we may never have to cross ourselves.....the weighing of one partner's need for fulfillment/adventure against a spouse's desire for extended companionship....i would be very disappointed if my spouse were to die out on an adventure taken against medical advice......much moreso that if her was out on one of his regular runs/rides.......that would be a fitting way to go, in fact....but not knowing from the onset that it was that risky.........

crap shoot

ok, so i have been vaguely amused by the recent nomination for supreme court justice.......and by the reactions on both sides of the aisle over that candidate........mostly because history has shown that nominees tend to vote their own mind after confirmation....and that justices nominated by conservative presidents have been much more likely to end up leaning more toward the middle than justices nominated by liberal presidents........this new guy once clerked for rehnquist.......who turned out to be a closet liberal after his nomination by richard nixon.......so the potential votes by justice roberts may well be like a crap shoot, with neither side pleased in the end.....certainly not the far right, who will expect this guy to uphold stuff like the 10 commandments in government buildings......and while he may personally agree with them in spirit, he is bound to uphold the constitution rather than his own agenda......or the agenda of those who supported his nomination........presumably rehquist will have a bit of influence over him initially, or at least so far as to encourage him to weight the facts in cases against law not passion....... it may all turn out just fine in the end.......

raging grannies....

ok, so this is the best on-line article i have read in some time.............

gee....... honey, how was your day........?

ok, so today i attended a smoking cessation training in frankfort.....so that i can assist pregnant women to quit smoking while pregnant, as well as to stay tobacco-free after delivering......and i drove our new health educator, who had never been to frankfort........she is about my age, also with 3 children, also living at the lake...albeit in another section entirely...her spouse runs....her children run crosscountry (she knew my middle child ran cc....and commented that she had seen him run at meets.....)....she is a reader.....she likes to drink wine.......she is from ohio.......so far, so good as far as potential workplace friends go.......the catch, because there is always a catch......was that the single thing i noticed when i pulled up to her stationwagon.....was the dubya sticker.........oy!.....not that this negates the potential, just limits the casual conversation......i have already marked off my list topics that i will not bring up......not that workplace relationships should matter this much to me......but i work with many, many people who i have absolutely nothing in common with.......and it is refreshing to discover someone with numerous overlaps.......we had a serious discussion about the annoyances of taking care of one's dock on a day-to-day basis.......heavens sakes.....i have never met anybody who understood the burdon that a dock is to one's daily routine.....lightening will strike, as i am the last person in my family to think of checking the dock after a rain storm........but i digress........one of the sections of today's session was about the pharmacological aids in quitting, like the gums, lozenges, sprays, patches, etc.......and the fact came up about how people using the patch often report having vivid dreams......wow.......my ears perked up, because i have really vivid dreams from time to time......and i take no medication upon which ti assign blame......but i was intrigued about the description given for vivid dreams..........hmmmm.....i am still wondering about my dream of last night...about the little boy giving me a digital camera storage card that contains pictures of my family........where did that come from?.......why would this boy, to whom i have never spoken.....be in my dream?.......i attached to photographs........and some of my photographic records are now digital........is my subconscious concerned that these photos are in danger for some reason?..........speaking of photographs, my new friend emily volunteers with the lake conservation league, and they make a fundraiser calender every year....using vintage lake photos........we have many from when my spouse's grandpa owned this house....then just a fishing cabin.......maybe i need to get her a few old photos of grandpa fishing ......maybe that will get this dream out of my head...........

strange dreams

ok,so i dreamed last night that we (as a family) were invited to the home of the photographers that go to our church.....and that at some point the youngest grandson offered to 'go-and-get' the digital storage card of all of the pictures that had been taken of us, both formally, and casually at school and church events.......i can clearly remember this 8 yearold pressing the digital storage card into my hand, secretly, like he was a spy...............curious.................that these folks would be on my radar, let alone in my dreams.......the most contact we have with thewm is the grandmother, who keeps trying to invite the middlechild to sunday school......i am surprised that i dreamt at all, being awake from 2:00-on?......with hotflashes it is just hard to get back to sleep......too hot is usually followed by too cold....and the cycle continues not long after one crawls back under the covers......and so there is the repositioning to be done, the flipping of the pillow for maximumsoftness.....the taking a drink of water, the trying to think of pleasant things......trying to keep the mind loose in hopes that it will sink back into sleep through sheer lack of opposing thoughts.........

just too funny.....

ok, for those who do note read regularly...i am not a fan of tom cruise......this piece from the new yorker added years to my life........

MY DOG IS TOM CRUISE
by NOAH BAUMBACH
Issue of 2005-07-25
Posted 2005-07-18

I have to tell you, things are good. I am . . . I am . . . Whooo! . . . I am very good. I just returned from a walk and . . . ha! Things. Are. Good. I’ve got a bowl of hard kibble with some soft stuff mixed in. My name’s on the bowl! I am passionate about this lamb-and-rice recipe. What’s been going on? haha! I’m so in love with this bitch! hahaha! I can’t . . . I’m so . . . I can’t restrain myself. hahahahahaha! We met at the park. She was in the run for little dogs . . . ’cause she’s, well . . . ha! She’s petite. And I was over in the big run and . . . I am in love. I can’t be cool. This bitch is . . . I have total respect for her. Yesterday on my five o’clock, I just sniffed her ass for a while and then we frolicked. I can’t even describe it . . . we chased squirrels . . . frisked, you know . . . she likes to be physical, too . . . and to fetch and . . . We’re like anyone. We tore into this shoe and just had a ball. I’ll see her tomorrow on my 8 a.m. I am happy. I am . . . hahahahahaha! She is a wonderful, wonderful animal. I can’t . . . words don’t . . . owooooo! I can’t sit or stay, man. I need to get up on my hind legs and holler, you know! I gotta pee on something. And I don’t care what the other animals do or what their masters say. Listen, there are always gonna be pit bulls. There are always gonna be Dobermans. And cynical little pugs. And you know what? I’ve never cared what others think about me. I’ve always been this way. I’m living my life. And I am fortunate. And I am excited. I am fortunate and excited.

Do you know the history of crate training? ’Cause I do. Don’t talk about things you don’t understand. Like saying dogs are wild. Dogs are wild—that is glib. Dogs are . . . I’ve done the research; there are crates that they put us in to quote unquote train us. They throw rattlesnakes at us. Electric-shock tags! I’m not making this up. This is . . . it’s history. Crate training just masks the problem. These dogs, they become zombies. You can totally handle disobedience naturally by saying “No!” and “Bad dog!” It works. Look at the facts. Shock tags?! I am disgusted.

hahaha! I fetch! Boy, I love to fetch. I am totally fired up when I fetch. And nap. I’ve got a great dog bed with leopard spots where I can power-nap, man. I’ve got awesome chew toys, too. I’m passionate about this rubber T-bone with peanut butter hidden in it. Here’s the point: do you know there are strays on the street eating out of the Dumpsters behind Chinese restaurants? I’m not making that up. I care about those mutts. But they don’t know what the options are. They don’t know that you can live in an apartment and get fed by a human. These hounds, man—when it thunders, they think the world is ending. Because they haven’t done the research. Do you know the statistics? A hundred and fifty dogs are being fixed every ten minutes. A hundred and fifty. Every ten minutes. I can’t . . . that’s just wrong. And I speak out about it.

There’s this yellow Lab, Clover, who I see in the dog run. And this is a totally great purebred. He’s a . . . ha! He’s . . . he’s a great guy. I’ve got enormous respect for him. But he’s overweight. You know why? ’Cause they’re feeding him scraps from the table. And he can’t fetch or chase without getting winded. That is sad. I care about him, and I care about the apricot poodle with the plaid socks on his feet, and I care about the basenji with the drooling issues. I want to hear good news. I like to see a Rottweiler get a bath or a shepherd savor a Milk-Bone. That makes me happy.

What these beggars don’t understand is that if you hover around the dinner table long enough and you’re observant food will come. Food’s gonna come naturally, man. They’re gonna drop stuff and you can—hahahahaha! But, seriously, begging is a huge issue among our species. I did the research. And I speak out. I speak out about misinformation. Do you know people think that one dog year is seven human years? That is false. Total fabrication. It’s approximate. Flea and tick collars? There are vitamins for that. And your master can totally put that capsule in a slab of butter and you’ll never know you ate it.

owooowowowooo!!! This bitch, she’s kind, she’s caring, she’s a wonderful, wonderful dog. It’s like . . . wow. And I don’t want to compare, but I’ve never felt this way before. We might have a litter. One thing at a time. It’s joy, man. That’s what it is. Look at my tail! I’m panting 24/7. hahahaha! I purr, even. Like a cat, man. The cat looks at me and he’s, like, “What did they put in your kibble?” haha! I don’t care. I’ve never cared what that cat thinks. But I care about him even though he’s a cynic. I care about the glib parakeet and those jerks the gerbils, but I’m not sure those are the same gerbils as before. hahaha! Those gerbils! We have fun. I bark, they run on the wheel. What’s that? The leash jingling! Is it eight already? Walk?! owooohahahahahaharuffruffruffha!!! I love living my life!


i wonder if brooke shields subscribes.........

never underestimate........

ok, so today was my day to travel to a sister health department....a journey delayed by 1) a woman in the road with dog on leash talking to a person in a parked car 2) a bus parked in front of a house with it's lights flashing and its stop sign sprung.....3) a laden asphalt truck heading toward the bypass.....on a road that defies passing 4) a late model mercedes going 25 in a 45 zone....i may be slow but i'm ahead of you.......the day was actually steller...as if all of the best clients waited til today to come ny way....the mother who was breastfeeding in the lobby when i called her name, who was delighted that i invited her to finish up in my office....she almost kissed me when i gave her an electric breastpump courtesy of the state of ky.......i also had a client whose toddler bounced in carrying a book.....this never happens.......and i had not one but two pregnant clients who told me upfront that they plan to breastfeed.....and asked me if i could give them useful information on pumping and going back to school/work........how often does these experiences come into play twice in one day when one's sons are 21 and 18?........the older of the two was quite serious when she asked me exactly how to warn her yet unborn child from the breast.............gentle readers.....this is not a question i hear everyday in my new line of work......but i knew the answer.........from readable sources and from personal testimony.......and this alone would have constituted a good day..........but i cannot leave out the blonde story.......one of my co-workers is a blonde......a barbie-like blonde......and today she came in from lunch with blonde jokes.....she told this herself......why do blondes have such trouble going to the bathroom alone?.....because they are not used to taking down their own britches........ha!.......but then she went on to more serious idiscussion.....she had turned off the radio at some point while she was out, because of some country song that equates 9-11 with the war, and lowrates those who are against our fighting heroes in iraq.....well, she went off...as they say in these parts......about how the terrorists were not from iraq, and how the war was a made up war....and how the government is selling us a bill of goods......gentle readers.......i did not see this coming........my once-a-week workmates are folks that i assume to be conservative, underinformed, and republican......and thus i say little about much when i am there.......my first day, when asked about my hyphenated last name.....i replied, sweetly, doesn't it sound so nice together?...... with no reference to equality or any related issues.......and i talk little about my kith and kin........especially after questioning of princeton as a college town.....isn't it just before you get to st louis, in western ky?..........and so for this person to come out as a democrat.....i was taken aback.......she quipped......my husband is a die-hard republican, but i say....i will sooner sleep with republicans than vote for any of them.........ha! it made my day.............

smartypants......

ok, so today i had a client, in with her 3 children under the age of 4.......a large woman.........by any cultural standards....and her middle child, just turning 2 on sunday....was a bright spot in my day.....a child who was describing the pictures in a fruit&vegetable coloring book to me in lucid terms....this is an apple....i like apples....apples are red.........wow......and when i mentioned to her mom that this child warranted special attention...lots of reading aloud, etc....the mom retorted.....what, you mean with smartypants?........i was horrified...that a mother of such an ahead-of-the-curve child would downplay the talent rather than rally around it.......i got the impression that the older child, a goodlooking blonde/blue-eyed daughter, and the baby....a boy with coal black&curly hair and blue eyes......were the stars of the household......and the middling child, though quite smart, would never measure up.......i have attempted to commit her name to memory....so when she makes good i can say that i knew her when...........

spunk.......

ok, so swim season is finally over.....the banquet started at 5:00 in the intense heat........and when my daughter's name was called as the 110% award for her age group......she was in the pool and not in the audience.....stage 17 today.....mostly flat but a nasty climb at the end.....on the massif central.......2 more flat stages and a time trial on saturday before lance cruises into paris on sunday......he allowed 2 of his teammates to ride ahead in a breakaway today......and the italian teammate salvadelli won the stage......i enjoy watching the tactics involved......the catandmouse over 225 km.......i have moaned before about the void that settles in after the tour is over.......an emptiness much greater than the end of kentucky's run at the ncaa tourney......the end of lance's run will be much more poignant, especially for those who remember him from his motorola days.....the 1995 tour, before he got sick........the stage that salvedelli won today, lance almost won back in 1995.........i do regret that we never traveled to france for the tour while lance was riding.....i know that we will make it there...eventually....but it will not be the same..........

predictions

ok, so i have some predictions that i will disclose....now that those who would become upset about such comments have completed book 6.....for starts, i believe that petunia dursely will come out of the magical closet at some crucial point in book 7, maybe save harry in some way during his last summer stint with his muggle kin......i also predict that snape and dumbledore somehow staged the death/betrayal as a way to get snape back into voldemort's inner circle............aside from the hermione/ron and harry/ginny connections......and i really believe that neville will be intrinsically involved in harry's salvation at the end in his last big clash with voldemort.......tuck these divinations away.....we have a bit of a wait before book 7............

rest day......

ok, so yesterday the tour had a rest day which means that the riders only rode part of the day rather than allday....they are far too competitive to lay in the bed and allow others to get in slightly better shape......and so the rest day is more for our benefit.....to allow the fans time to catch up on chores, sleep, etc......i went to bed before 9:00 pm.....thinking i would read a bit......but mostly to enjoy some horizontal time with my eyes closed.......whether in dreams or otherwise........i am not sure how exactly to describe my current otherwise......it is the maternal pasttime of worrying about every possible detail about offsrping's lives.......not a one that can be controlled by a mother, mind you........and one would ask.....why put yourself through this?........gentle readers, if i could turn it off, like a leaky faucet, i would do so in a heartbeat........trhese are not big issues.....just things like..........should i buy a rug for the middlechild's dorm room, or find out of the new roommmate was planning on bringing a rug......reasonable people do not waste their time with such stuff........and so i awoke this morning less-than-refreshed for all of my time in bed.......gosh, i could really use a rest day from my swirling thoughts..............

ok, so i saw this on-line this morning...within moments of logging on......and it has really made my day....the image of madonna as a martha-wannabe....playing country gentleman farmer's wife at her own english version of les hameaux.....maybe she thought the marie antoinette milkmaid costume needed updating.....and though this appears to be a crafted-for-magazine photo.....i have no doubts as to madonna's sincerity in reinventing herself yet again....now that she has 2 children to raise, and a british spouse who probably values just the image we see on this screen.......she has all the resources it takes to make that image more reality than fantasy........and while i am not necessarily a fan of her music.........she has driven her own bus, so to speak.....and i must give her credit for being nobody's pawn........ 

gossip.....

ok, so i consider it a good celebrity gossip day when the headlines include....'i am sorry i slept with the nanny'.........especially when one knows that this really isn't a true statement......nobody is eversorry that the nanny has been slept with....only that one has gotten caught sleeping with the nanny........and this is the conundrum about men and women who have cheated on their spouses/girlfriends/boyfriends before......they cannot be trusted....as they have already compromised any semblance of honor they had before their indescretion became public knowledge.......and so why does anyone waste time with those who have already shown that they cannot be trusted?........it is one of those mysteries that keeps talk shows in business.....and sells all of those self-help books.....and keeps romance novels in print.........

ok, so lance is till in yellow, and he let his longtime teammate george hincappie win this mountain stage.......i say...let win....because nothing happens on lance's team that he doesn't pre-ordain........looks good for lance in paris......... 

marathon read.......

ok, so after reading book 6 in less than 24 hours........there are many things clear and many more things left to book 7 for clarification......without giving away the plot....here are my initial observations.......in no particular order........a)i will have to reread this book several times to hit all the nuances i missed the first time in trying to find out what happens rather than savoring anything as it happens, but that is part of the next-to-the-last reality of this installment.....it sets the stage for the last book...rowling must know how she wants this all to end up....so this book is merely a way to get from the end of book 5 to the end of #7 rather than unfolding a semi-contained storyline...like volumes 1-5.......b)and that is why i didn't enjoy this book as much as i did thep previous books .......c) didn't enjoy is not the correct term......i found the book to be unnecessarily depressing........and hopeless, rather than hopeful.........and i am saddened that rowling would leave the majority of planet earth in such a funk awaiting book 7 for the next...say...... 2 years....if the whole storyline is going to end so badly.....then shame on the author for dragging us all in only to leave us terribly scarred by the experience.....and if the story is going to end on an up note......why bother to be so depressing just before the end?..d).my gut instinct is that the person(s) killed off will return in book 7, and that the illusion of death was a ploy that will all make sense in the end........ah well.........after i finish studying for my sunday school lesson i am on to the kite runner.......our last bookclub book of the season..........and hopefully a more chipper read than the 672-pager i just slogged through............

hp is here.......

ok, so book 6 is here...........

so close......

ok, so i am about half-way through with sewing together the afghan......that part seems to go so much faster than the knitting part......seems........nyuk, nyuk.......no pun intended.......and it is a perfect thing to do whilst watching the tour yet another evening on television.....as per usual.....i already know what happens.....what netjunkie wouldn't already know just how the breakaways, chases and sprints unfolded,,,,,and who was in which jersey at the end of the day.....and how far ahead is lance.....and how are the other americans doing......and so last evening when the tape abruptly ended.......seems my mom thought it should have been over already when she got home from her regular friday beauty parlor appointment....so she shut off the machine........yesterday was an extra-long course because it was flat......and so i was able to list out for my disappinted spouse.....the finishers, the jerseys, the drama.........rather than to have to quick look it all up..........1 more week of racing.....the pyrennees.....and then another time trial before paris.......looks good for lance......hopefully his mom and his children will be there at the end...it would be sad to miss that.......doubt that his ex-wife will want to be around, what with lance's girlfriend in attendence.....looks like he will continue to have drama even after his racing career is over........

golden bear.....

ok, so the golden bear retired today..after failing to make the cut at st andrew's in scotland at the british open.........though i care naught for golf.......i did grow up in central ohio, where jack nicklaus sat at the right hand of God herself....i have not been able to confirm that he went to osu, and if he actually graduated if he attended...but osu certainly treats him like the native son he was in the columbus area.......he has had a monumental run as a pro golfer.......and my prediction is...that he will retire to play a little golf.......... 

arrrrr-nold

ok, so arnold has mud on his face........shame on him.....for his multimillion dollar deal with the company that not only publishes a body building mag, bit also the national enquirer and the star.......he writes a monthly column.....and takes in 1% of the sales value of all supplements sold by advertisers in the magazine.....a conflict of interest since he recently vetoed a bill from the california legislature that would have banned use of such supplements by high school athletes......shame in arrrr-nold, for putting personal gain ahead of safety..........the other shoe has yet to fall on arrrr-nold and his pills and potions.....many a supplement abuser has gone on to have lasting brain damage.....people like lyle alzada who bulked up to play football........died as a result of his earlier abuse of this stuff.......then there was the baseball player who died using a dietary supplement to lose weight......the fda keeps a running count of these deaths......sad that arnold gets to cash in on these poor souls until they cash out.......

rove and rehnquist.....

ok, so the news of late has not been good for dubya........he knew all along that karl rove was his leak.....i repeat.......his leak......nothing happens inside the white house that dubya doesn't orchestrate himself, or that cheney doesn't choreograph in his name........one would think that the special prosecutor in independent......but i have little faith in that myth....especially with insidethebeltway issues....but the knowledge that dubya's drawers are in a bundle will have to suffice for now......and then there is the messgae sent directly from the chief justice, through dubya's chief counsel......that he is not retiring......and that he plans to show up for work every day that he possibly can do so......ouch, dubya.......my guess was he was going to nominate his own daddy for the second job......i am kidding.......dubya senior's life now revolves around consulting with foreign powers for the big fees....and there is the tsunmami relief promotion....and golfing.....he is much too busy for a regular gig these days........or maybe dubya can nominate himself.....to take the post the day he leaves the white house.....so he can have a hand in policy-making for years and years to come.......so many possible scenarios......so little time to jot them down on a workday morning........

refresher....

ok, so i appreciated this refresher.....from a london paper..release is only a bit more than 24 hours.....i teach sunday school this weekend....i am studying ahead.....so that i can devote as much time as possible to volume 6.....


HARRY POTTER: The son of Lily and James Potter, who were murdered by the evil wizard Lord Voldemort. Voldemort tried to kill Harry as well, but failed, leaving him with a lightning bolt-shaped scar on his forehead. At Hogwarts, a school for witches and wizards, Harry is a member of Gryffindor house, where he plays on the Quidditch team. He's constantly threatened by Voldemort and his minion, and knows a showdown is imminent. He's currently reeling from the killing of his godfather, Sirius Black.

RON WEASLEY: Ron is one of Harry's two best friends at Hogwarts. Tall, with red hair and freckles, he is sometimes envious of Harry's fame and is embarrassed by his family's lack of wealth. Ron is deathly afraid of spiders, ever since his older brother turned his teddy bear into one when Ron was a toddler. He's now a Gryffindor prefect, on the Quidditch team and, as always, right there in the thick of things with Harry.

HERMIONE GRANGER: This Gryffindor classmate, Harry's other best friend, is by far the smartest student of her year. With bushy hair and formerly large teeth (she had them shrunk in Book four), Hermione can sometimes be a know-it-all but is always a good friend to Harry. She's despised by some -- especially Hogwarts student Draco Malfoy, who dislikes Hermione because her parents are Muggles (non-magical). She tends to go by the rules and wishes Harry wouldn't be quite so willing to court trouble, but she always has her wand out, ready to do her part when the time comes.

ALBUS DUMBLEDORE: Head of Hogwarts. Dumbledore is reputed to be the only wizard Voldemort actually fears. He has been involved in Harry's life from the beginning. It was Dumbledore who decided Harry should live with his horrible aunt and uncle after his parents died; since Harry's arrival at Hogwarts, Dumbledore has kept an eye on him.

LORD VOLDEMORT: The most heinous wizard of recent time, Voldemort had instituted a reign of terror in the magical world. He and his supporters, the Death-Eaters, were responsible for torturing and killing many wizards, which stopped the night he went after the Potters. He killed Lily and James, but when he attempted to curse Harry, the curse bounced back and severely weakened him. He has returned to physical form, sending the magical world into a state of panic.

MINERVA McGONAGALL: A professor at Hogwarts, she teaches transfiguration and is the head of Gryffindor House. She started Harry on his Quidditch career when she saw him fly a broomstick for the first time. She wears glasses that look just like the markings around the eyes of the tabby cat into which she transfigures.

SEVERUS SNAPE: Head of Slytherin House, Snape is professor of potions. But he really wants to be the defence-against-the-dark-arts teacher. From the minute Harry arrives at Hogwarts, Snape detests him -- but he also kept Harry safe his first year at Hogwarts -- an act of honour since James Potter once saved his life. A former Death-Eater, he left Voldemort's service and went to work for good.

RUBEUS HAGRID: Keeper of the Keys at Hogwarts and recently a professor of the care of magical creatures. It was Hagrid, larger-than-life thanks to his giant mother, who turned up on Harry's 11th birthday to tell him about his past. A former Hogwarts student, he was kicked out after he was framed for crimes committed by Tom Riddle, who later became Lord Voldemort. He's besotted by dangerous animals.

DRACO MALFOY: Harry's most detested enemy, at least among Hogwarts students. He's a member of Slytherin House, which generated many of Voldemort's followers. Malfoy considers himself superior to many students, because he comes from one of the oldest and longstanding pureblood wizard families.

THE DURSLEYS: Vernon, Petunia and son Dudley are Harry's nasty, non-magical relatives. Petunia was Lily's sister. The Dursleys, who hate anything abnormal, spent years mistreating Harry. They keep him during his summer breaks, but are extremely glad he spends all his other holidays at school. But Petunia is not as unaware of the magical world as we think.

THE WEASLEYS: Ron's parents, Arthur and Molly, have six other children -- Bill, Charlie, Percy, Fred, George and Ginny. Extremely loving and extremely poor, the family lives in a ramshackle house in Ottery St. Catchpole. They've almost adopted Harry, and are all very fond of him.

LUCIUS MALFOY: Draco's father and a Voldemort supporter. He hates Muggles and all those descended from non-magical families. Using his money and power, he tries to influence many things. He's now in prison for being a Death-Eater.

hopefully this doesn't only happen in ky......

ok, so on my way to work this morning....it is thursday...so i was driving on the '4-lane' to stanford...in the rain....the remnants of the hurricane(s).......and i passed by a woman who was out watering her flowers....with a garden hose.......in th erain.....i will say this one more time.....in the rain........not much to say after one admits this............but do these things happen elsewhere.....is it a kentucky thing.......or is every state inhabited by clueless folk.........

15 minutes of fame.....

ok, so it wasn't mine......an article involving my brotherinlaw was on the cover of the washington post yesterday....color photo and all.......

just a closer walk.......

ok,so i went to dr. mack's memorial service.......i left work really early so i could get to the church early enough to get a seat........really big funerals fill up fast......and so i happened to sit next to a couple from my church....a retired physician and his wife who could be/should be poster-people for christianity.....they are so genuinely kind.....i could/should take a lesson from them....but i digress.......the memorial service was s.r.o.......with eclectic musical selections.....vincent dimartino playing what a wonderful world on trumpet..a lovely arrangement of til we meet again on the church's baby grand..amazing grace sung by all those in attendence.....the 1st baptist men's gospel choir singing i come here asking for a blessing.......they really rocked for a presbyterian funeral.......but then....dr. mack used to play sax with them at their black baptist church....and i am certain that the congregation showed more appreciation then than the waspish funeral crowd did today........only a few amens when they were done....and no one clapped along....or danced in the aisles.......mack would have appreciated it if someone had done so.....one of the eulogies was read by our friend dick (cayle's foster father) for our friend milton....who is now in france following the alpine portions of the tour before his own mountain trek.....we were invited on this adventure......before i left the restaurant and before we had a child get into an ivyleague school.....and luckily we didn't decide to make the commitment....because it wouldn't have been good timing.......but i digress yet again........mack's daughter also gave a euology......with great difficulty........she mentioned her 2-year-old daughter's relationship with her 'precious'.........she didn't call her grandpa any of those cutsie southern names like pawpaw, or pappy, .....just 'precious'........so sweet a testimony to a singular man.......

ran

ok, so i watched the classic japanese film with my middle child before a late supper......the others were out....at a pre-meeting for 4-h camp.......and though i had heard little about this film...i did seem to know ahead that it was loosely based on the shakeperean play king lear.......and this adaptation may be more bloodly than the play.....or at least when filmed in feudal japan with swords.......some great lines........when lord hidetora exclaims that he is lost...the fool aka kyoami retorts....such is the human condition.......Akira Kurosawa was the director, producer, screenplay adapter........he made the film at age 78......i was chilled by the performance of lady kaede, whose desire fro revenge led her to basically set every body in this family against everybody else...resulting in utter destruction.....i had forgotten, or else i never actually knew...just how tragic was the tale of king lear............and when the movie finally ended in japanese credits that couldn't be read.......we put in the tour tape....and stayed up til midnight watching lance really attack the mountain....and take back control of the tour......he was a machine going up those switch backs.......and he quite obviously let the non-threat rider in the final sprint win the stage.....lance would wear the yellow jersey regardless....and lance is the kind of guy who doesn't win a stage just to get the trophy.....he has his eyes on the bigger prize.......and so it came to be that with the japanese cult film....and the tour.....i completely forgot the baseball allstar game.....for the record....the al won......i hope to watch the highlights on mlb.com.......who says my life lacks interest?..............

last to know.....

ok, so i am the last to find out that a notorious acquaintance has divorced...or been divorced by...her 3rd husband......and the only reason that i have not locked up my spouse...or at least draped him in garlic and crucifixes......is that i am fairly sure she won't be moving back to these parts.....having worn out her welcome the first time........she is the one that i mentioned several graduations ago...i catered her youngest son's graduation event......and when she hugged me....and thanked me profusely for being her best friend...or some such rubbish.......i was shocked to discover.......through the passive observer method...that she had had her breasts done.....and that they were hard as rocks.......omg........i can still remember the effort required to not laugh out loud.......mostly at the notion that so many men covet large breasts....even if they are made of semi-styrofoam......maybe the husband in question discovered this for himself after he paid the bill for the reconstruction.......and found himself a younger, less plasticized replacement......i should be sympathetic....i suppose......if this were not someone that i had to pry off my spouse at more than one gathering.........around here they say.....what goes around...comes around.......

funk.......

ok, so i have borrowed the following words from salon.com....one of the letters in the life section........i could not have said it better.....

Is it possible these days to be sad, not depressed? Is it defensible to have regrets, not symptoms? Can one have an honest funk, once, without jeopardizing everything? Should I buy a happy face and plaster it to my brow?

i can sympathize.....in my midlife hormonal and imbalanced state.....i can say honestly that is it ok to be sad but not depressed......wasn't the old term for this...melancholy........or some such....more of a pensive reverie rather than a medicatable condition.....completely separate from the descriptive of worrywort......or a gloomygus.....certainly not suicidal like ophelia....or driven to selfdestruction like hamlet.....or hopeless like virginia woolf....the scene(s) in the hours where virginia plunks the stones in her pockets and wades out into the river is chilling to me......maybe the closest i can imagine to doing myself in.....somehow nicole kidman made the act look surreal and not pathetic........i have been in a semi-sad state ever since it was pointed out....in so many words.....that what i write is not interesting......and i suppose that is true..to a point.....but i like to describe this blog.....and the life that inspires it.....as my little life.....and i happen to enjoy my little life....inspite of my current funk.......a condition that could easily be cured by the advent of travel......foreign travel, preferably.....and this shall come to pass sooner rather than later......just not in this calender/tax year......but next year......i think a trip somewhere is in order......purely medicinal....and infinitely better than the alternative........

ok, so karl rove is the leak....the insider that dubya swore he would fire for outing the cia agent....of course dubya swore he didn;t know who the leak was when he made this promise...this is a federal offense...outing an undercover cia agent......maybe dubya doesn't understand this....or doesn't care.........so does rove go to jail.....does he even get fired........ 

random travel mug lids.......

ok, so my youngest child melted down the lid to my favorite travel mug in the dishwasher.......it ended up on top of the heat element......and now i have to improvise with non-standard replacements until i get around to finding another entire mug.....or a lid that fits......there appears to be no standardized cup/lid decree in this country.......makers of every plastic and aluminum vessel simply make them willy-nilly.....and thus our graveyard of bottoms and tops has yet another bottom.....reasonable and less-optimistic folk would have thrown out the lot...or at least passed them off to the goodwill......for a tax deduction.....but we haven't lost hope that a lid will come along for the grey centre mug......or a bottom will come along for the numerous round/black/tabbed tops that are in abundance but fit securely on nothing......a conundrum.......one would think that just going to work and drinking coffee there would suffice.....but my workmates buy the special blend $2.99/lb coffee........which only hits the caffeine-deprivation spot in absolute and dire emergencies......until that time....i will struggle to make random lids fit equally random bottoms......or just drive with the hot beverage lidless.....now that is my idea fo living dangerously............

library book.......

ok, so i broke down saturday and went to the library.........knowing that before i could check out book si would have to settle up for the books on cd that i borrowed for spring break.....and lost track of for a couple of weeks.....that kind of fine adds up.......and so when i was legal to check out a few volumes.....i chose sequels to mystery series......rather than books that some would consider interesting/timely/worthy.......i sat up finishing the first of two last evening......just so my personal library connection could return it for me before the ink dries on the receipt.....no more fines for me.......all the while i have several unfinished books lying about....the new nick hornby, which isn't bad.....but putdownable....i lost interest when i started the aphgan project.....i can multitask many things....but knitting and reading at the same time aren't on the list.....for the record.....i am down to my 2 last panels, and then the sewing it alltogether part begins.......i have also been reading a guide to dublin that i have purchased for andrew as a gift.....he leaves in under 3 weeks........and there is the book club book......the kite flyer......that i had better get started onif i want to be finished by august 2........considering that harry potter 6 comes out saturday.....amazon has promised to deliver it on saturday afternoon.....and so this book will become my priority........the last 5 have been the can'tputdown kind......so i envision several days of taking it to work, to read on breaks and during lunch........you know the can'tputdown drill.......my middle child pointed out yesterday that the harry potter book, as (to be) sold in britain has 2 covers....one ofr children and one for adults.......seems adults were less likely to buy the book to read...say...on the train or bus with the more juvenile-style cover.......ha!@ that is really quite humerous.......i am surprised that this hasn't been done here......shallow as we can be here in the states........but i digress.......time to get ready to go to work......lots to do today, actually.....catch-up reading for a diabetes course that i start teaching tomorrow.....or rather...reviewing stuff just be make sure of my facts.........interesting how easy it is to put off work-related reading.....no such thing as can'tputdown reading material at work...........

ok, so Six-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong, rides with Utah native Dave Zabriskie at the start of Wednesday's fifth stage. Armstrong declined to wear the yellow jersey at the start of the stage because he believed he won it only because Zabriskie fell the day before, but Tour officials made him don it. (Christophe Ena/The Associated Press)..........of course, all of this is made more tragic by dave's withdrawal from the tour today......he seemed so down-hearted when asked by the oln guy........like the wreck that took away his yellow jersey......had hurt him both mentally as well as physically....clearly...his team csc had left him out to dry after that fall, rather than to support him through the defeat......he has the talent to be the next lance......given his performanc ein the time trial..hopefully a deserving team will take him on after his contract runs out 

goodbye.....

ok, so our friend mack died this morning...after a long battle with a brain tumor, that wasn't really a brain tumor....more like a brain melanoma......he was a renaissance man....an orthopedic surgeon, a runner, a cyclist, an environmentalist, a saxophone player with his own combo........he was devoted to the preservation of the historic stone fences.......he rebuilt those on his own farm....and helped to rebuild those in his general vicinity.....when i broke my foot years ago...falling down my mother-in-law's steps trying to make it to the bathroom in the middle of the night with flagrant food poisoning...we drove back to danville with my foot wrapped in an ace bandage so mack could take a look....and in the emergency room he and i had such an intense conversation about the kneading of bread that he forgot to write a prescription for pain medication.......and so my poor spouse had to track him down later when the lapse became intolerable.........he fought the good fight, and when the fight was over he passed peacefully...at home......a historic place written up in numerous magazines for it's dedication to time and place in decor, landscaping.......and things will never be the same....at least for the everyothersunday crowd......who gathered for meditation in his art studio...just down from his chinese-style outdoor woodfired kiln.......the last time i saw mack was at an impromptu clean-up/repair visit to the studio....that ended up with a hike and a pot-luck.......and he was jolly, and optimistic.....as we all should be on this short passing-through we call life on earth...........

mean mamma

ok, so i was treated to a round of meanmammameanmammameanmamma this morning, as i forced my cartoon-watching 12-yearold into service.....to help trim out the dead stuff from the flowerbeds....at least while it wasn't too hot out to do the job......i almost pointed out to her that such rants can takeon a more dramatic tone if some interpretive dance moves are worked in.......akin to the greek chorus......maybe some flailing of the arms as well........there is something intrinsicly tragic about a 12-year old who must help out around the property, eh?......and then for her to have to find her own gloves, and her own pair of clippers......the injustice......the inhumanity.......well.....with the gloves she has a point.......we have a bin of mismatched workgloves.....they are like socks.....and pairs become unpaired......and at times one is lucky to have a left and a right rather than a set-as-purchased......and with clippers......same story....clippers tend to be made to wear out/rust out......the nicest pair of clippers i ever owned was purchased at the chelsea flower show years ago....they were made by a british company best known for shavers...and they were sized for female hands......just a wonderful piece of equipment....until a spring fell out.....and they clip no more.....i still have them of course......for sentimental reasons.....and with the hope that they could be repaired, magically.......maybe an intinerant clipper repairmen will come to the door......it could happen.......and so my work crew and i labored for 2 solid hours.......i focused on the reblooming rose bushes......which must have the deadheads removed for any chnace at a nice second flush......this is risky business in the summer....when it is too hot even in the a.m. for fuill body armor.....and thus i have puncture wounds......and even some bruising where the extra large thorns got stuck in my arms.....and en especially large wound above my left knee that bled almost to my ankle before i noticed it.......i once went to a local chiropracter when i hurt my back......and when he saw my rose-related wounds....he started this serious line of questioning about domestic violence.....and i interrupted with the observation that he had no rose bushes at home........if he did he could have easily shown me his own roserelated injuries........they look kind of like the remains of a catfight......if you, gentle readers, have no roses to tend and cannot envision the full horror....but i digress from my daughter...who announced after the 2nd hour that she was done............and i agreed, because i was also done........i have errands to run....and if i am especially efficient i will treat myself to a baseball game on fox.....boston at baltimore.......and maybe the cd's i ordered for my 12-year old will arrive.....they are a surprise.........meanmamma, indeed............

extreme makeover......

ok, so this is heartening news......from an email sent from upstate new york......an update on the condition of my spouse's eldest sister, who recently had an unsuccessful sugury to remove an all-too-extensive tumor that either spread from recurring breast cancer, or from uterine/ovarian cancer....either way.......she and my brother-in-law had just started a home rennovation project on their upstate ny/vermont border classic farmhouse when we visited last august.....a new garage attached to the house in back by a 2-story kitchen extension/mudroom/exercise room .....progress had been slow over the usual upstate ny winter.....and when the cancer reoccurance became a priority.....it was far from completed.....the structural parts were there, but the finishing stuff.....the tasks they thought could be done cheaper themselves.....those had languished.....and so it came to pass that dear friends dropped by the friday night of the 3-day holiday weekend......bearing both dinner, and news that they had arranged for a workcrew of friends/family (mostly from their church) to come for 3 solid days....and that my brother-in-law best be outlining the work to be done, and making sure that the materials were on hand......and so, with the feel of the barn-raising of old, the wallboard was hung, mudded, sanded, primed, painted....and the woodworking cut and hung....and cabinets placed, and appliances set, and by monday evening, the only things lacking involved the storage space above the garage......almost brings tears to your eyes...the kindness that people can bring to those who need a boost.....we hope to visit on our way home from taking the middle child to school...it is only 3-4 hours away from princeton......rather than 15 hours away from ky....it will be a long ride on monday (labor day)...but it had been done before.....but i digress......i often watch the extreme makeover show on abc....the one sponsored by sears.....it is always such a touching tale of kindness, albeit prompted by the desire for companies like sears to have their products showcased......but i can never watch the show without tears in my eyes......the family with the madeover home is always deserving....and while i know in my heart that grace is given to all....the deserving as well as the undeserving....none of us is truly deserving of grace because we have all sinned and will continue to do so......it is heartening to watch people who need a lift up get such a wonderfully upgraded place to live out their days......and while the televised version is grander than my sister-in-law's homemade one.....the one staged by friends certainly makes up for it as a heartfelt act of love

florida......

ok, so my spouse and i had one of those confirming conversations last evening......after watching another installment of le tour......that one of the things we have in common is our lack of interest in beach vacations....especially beach vacations in florida.....if it is too hot to sit outside at home, why would a reasonable person pack up and drive 15 hours south to sit outside...especially with hurricanes a-comin......we can name names here.....the folks who have recently been and the folks who are on their way.......and the fascination with surf and sun and sweat.......falls flat with this family.....at least with those who direct vacation traffic....and pay for the basics......no....we have always been a national park/museum/historical significance family......and these locations are rarely on the beach....except for chincoteague in maryland......with the wild horses....now....that is a wonderful beach.....and so near to annapolis, williamsburg, maryland......ah well......we are not going anywhere until we take the middling child to college.....and then we may just trapse on up to valley falls on the vermont border....with no beach in sight......

babe in arms.....

Ok,so.......i have taken to complementing mothers who carry babies ....rather than in those plastic carrier/carseat combos......who knew that advances in carseats would bring civilization to this point......that infant carseats would become carriers....and that parents would opt to lug the baby seat and all rather than to carry baby seatless......in one's arms...upclose and personal.......some mothers just leave the kid in the seat when they sit down to for whatever service they require at the health department......as if baby must really prefer to be strapped in, and down on the ground, and (usually) surrounded by the stuff that didn't fit into the diaper bag......or worse......the mom's cellphone is tucked somewhere around baby so she doesn't have to search through the diaperbag when it rings.......this doesn't play out well.....as an infant startled by the special downloaded ringtones makes the actual phone conversation pretty worthless....with the screams and squalls and all........but i digress from carrying one's own child.......there appears to be an underlying belief that to hold one's child too much is equivalent to spoiling him or her......spoiling.....where do they come up with this crap-ola philosophy.........spoiling a child is when you buy them whatever they want in checkouts, or let them eat junk, and don't make them learn to do chores....or let them stay up all night watching their own televisions......or replacing all poorly cared for toys with brandnew versions......or failing to require the child to pay for at least half of big-ticket items.....this is spoiling.......opting to let one's newborn lounge in a plastic carrier rather than pick it up when one is settled into an office chair is neglectful, not spoiling.......and crazy waste of time and energy.....those carriers are heavy, and bulky......i watched one mother teater on highhealed sandals trying to lug her baby's carrier....and when she turned to me to complain about all the stuff she had to schlep around with her baby......well......i should have commented that with my infants.....all i needed was a diaper or two and a blanket to use as a coverup if nursing were required while we were out.......and since we didn't have those fancy carrier/carseats.......we either put baby in the front snuggly (when tiny) or the backpack (when larger)....but i didn't say these things...because she has already made the choice to lug rather than to cuddle/carry......and since this particular woman hadn't the sense to know that wearing highheel sandals was foolish whether lugging baby in a carrier.....or not.......

gonzales......

ok, so i have mixed feelings about the potential nomination of judge gonzales, friend of dubya, to replace sandra day o'connor.....on one hand...the far-right wingers are upset, because his feelings on abortion are unclear at best....he has been quoted as saying that as attorney general he would uphold roe-v-wade because it was the law of the land.......that doesn't mean much as far was what he would do in a new court case with different particulars........but it is enough to make bush's base uneasy......and this pleases/amuses me.....but on the other hand.....gonzales seemed to have no problem with the gitmo torture issue.....and this disturbs me.......and then there is the historical truths about justices failing to follow through on the ideology of their nominating president.....so many have gone off on their own internal compass....in directions unpredicted.......o'connor herself was a nixon appointee.....who didn't end up very nixon-like in the end......and so maybe gonzales might make a good choice.....a hispanic voice for a growing hispanic population......who may not be qyite as conservative as he is made out to be by virtue of being a friend of dubya.......he may be the pig-in-a-poke.......and only time will tell..........say....when he resigns and the press summarizes his tenure.............