Yes, we are getting our first significant amount of rain in months. It has been raining for hours and it seems to be coming down heavier, not easing up. It is completely overcast, so it may go on all day long. It is kind of a bummer since I cannot sit out by the river to do the crossword. I usually hate it when it rains heavy on a Wednesday morning because then I am trapped inside with the maid. Whenever she is not running the vacuum, she is running her mouth. To say that she is a motor-mouth would be putting it lightly. If silence was golden, she couldn't raise a dime. LOL. I am just teasing. She is very nice.One upside to this downpour is that it makes for a good day to stay inside and catch a film. I had planned to do that anyway, so it will be fine. I am having some scuba friends over at 1:00pm to see, "Blue Water Hunters." Narrated by Peter Fonda, it is a very cool film about freedivers who spearfish. I am going to pop a pizza or two in the oven, toss up a salad and serves some tortillas with guacamole and a Greek dip called Tzatziki. It should be a good time.
Oooh, here comes the maid, gotta run.
17 comments:
Hi PromiseMeThis, After reading this morning's post, I immediately thought of
Everybody Ought To Have A Maid from A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum, although a lot of the sentiments might not apply in your life. LOL
I was never in the financial position to afford a maid. I was a divorced working mother for years, so even though that was the time I could have most used the help, the money wasn't available.
Now, we might afford it, but with just two of us, we don't need it. Life can be so unfair!
My husband, who is a neatnik, takes care of most of the vacuuming, bathroom cleaning, dishwasher filling and coffee prep. I cook, change the sheets and dust. We each do our own laundry. That makes it very easy for both of us.
Good Afternoon, PromiseMe,
It sounds like you have some fun plans for the day. It is absolutely gorgeous here and, as much as I like it, it means no desparately needed rain.
I think that having this blog available is going to interesting as some real personalities emerge. Larry/Windhover is quite a philosopher and I thought his comments to you very well considered. It is also fun to see underneathe the Buckeye personna. ClearAyes, as always, is our classy lady. I think being a favorite of Buckeye's is quite a compliment for someone who finds Kate Hepburn fascinating.
I am going to meet Elissa on Monday for coffee, I am very much looking forward to it. To answer your question,I think that ClearAyes and I probably live about a 2 hour drive apart...it seems here in CA that we speak of distances in terms of how long it takes to drive there...a cultural thing maybe? JD and Elissa live about 20-30 min away. I live almost at the end of SF Bay, just a bit to the east, between Fremont and San Jose.
FYI...Big Sur is a bit the other way from ClearAyes...along the coast.
As I told ClearAyes...I am going to try and wean myself away from C.C.'s blog for a bit in preparation to going back to work, so to speak, with the mural project, which could last as long as 2 months. I find that I am spending way too much time in the mornings reading and commenting. So, I may chime in here as I think we can be a bit more open. Linda(who is charming) was appologising all the place today for her Military Intelligence/oxymoron statement. I hope that people are not scared into hiding because of a few random Anon rants and fear of Big D's displeasure.
Anyway...I must go paint now in this beautiful weather. My "studio" is in our sunroom, so glorious on days like this...cheers and a good day to you all...enjoy your film and your friends. KW
Wolfmom, First off, thank you for the lovely compliment.
Did you get my "saffron" e-mail? I sent it directly to the hotmail address you provided yesterday.
LOL, yes, I live about 2/12 to 3 hours due east of SF Bay. Of course, everything depends on the traffic. I don't mind the folks here knowing where I live, but you always have to be aware of the people you don't know are looking, getting more information than you would like them to have.
You're right about Big Sur. It is an additional 2 hour drive south-west.
How nice that you will be seeing Elissa and JD. Maybe you can encourage them to stop by this blog once in a while.
I wish Buckeye had a posted email, so we could invite him over for a rant or two.
Good luck (you won't need it) on your mural. Please take "in progress" photos and let us see how you are doing.
I've really been enjoying my art class this semester. We've been working with pastels and I find that I really like it. It is very forgiving of mistakes...and I make a lot.
PromiseMeThis, I've reread your post from yesterday and I found it very interesting. I may have this wrong, so please give me hell if it is too far off.
You believe that there is more to Creation than the mechanics of evolution.
You tend to believe that the soul occupies the body at about the seventh week after conception.
Your objection to abortion after the seventh week of pregnancy is more firmly set than during the first six weeks.
You have no objection to the use of pre-soul fetus cells being used for stem cell research.
I know I have simplified your statement by a LOT. But if I have understood, at least in a general way, I don't think your opinions are particularly contradictory or strange.
I'll let you know what I think when I have a little more time.
Hope you are having a nice rainy afternoon movie and pizza.
ClearAyes...Yep, got the email and you should have a reply...and a bit of a rant. I am so glad that you are enjoying your art classes. Making mistakes is how you learn. Don't think I don't make lots of mistakes...fortunately I can paint them out. If its really bad I just rip off the canvas and stretch another...time consuming, but better than just wasting some pricey stretchers.
I am trying not be intimidated by this mural concept...I just keep thinking of it as a REALLY big painting. I am very excited about it and the people I am doing the work for are really lovely. I think it is going to be a rather organic project as the client is someone who likes to be involved. My brother said he will most like be coming over to chat and make comments and suggestions, which is really fine with me. He also may have some other projects in the near future. I'm just really glad that I finally got over my acrophobia years ago as we will be renting scaffolds for a good part of the ceiling work. My daughter, who is a faux finisher, and her boss are available to help. When I see some of the projects they do and photos of the scaffolds they climb around on...well...takes my breath away. Fortunately these ceilings will max out around 10 ft.
My website has a place for a blogsite in the template and I may try to set it for photos once I am in progress...keep fingers, crossed.
Just thought of something else...If you are planning on going to Sebastopol to Redwood Hill Farms...Check the website in a few weeks for the dates. Apparently, the owner, Jennifer, is having a cottage built on the property and they are a bit iffy about having a bunch of people around. Sharon(her sister and fabulous artist) just sent me an email that they may be changing a couple of the dates. AND...if you are going, let me know which date and maybe we can co-ordinate. We want to bring our daughter, husband and granddaughter because the baby goats are beyond cute. They raise 4 different breeds and the mommies(we call them Jennifer's "ladies" are just lovely!
Cheers
Windhover,
Re: Your Tuesday Post
Of course you may call me Promise. You may also call me PMT, as is done occasionally on C.C.'s blog. Just don't all me PMS :)
A long credo? Oh my ... perhaps this blog does have a future. If you think that was long, it may dissuade you to know that the post of mine to which you referred was a mere smidgen of my credo.
I couldn't agree more that one must know oneself. How else can one know the nature of one's true purpose (not that I claim to, but I like to think I am working on it).
I had a good friend on Miami Beach who said that, "One quality of yours that I admire, is that you not only know which music you like, but you also know why you like it." I appreciated that compliment, while also realizing that it applied not only to music, but to everything else, as well." One must know why one believes what one does. That being said, there is a lot we don't know that we must, never-the-less, make decisions about. I totally agree with the notion that one must test one's own hypotheses ... when that is possible. However, when it comes to the deepest ontological questions, even the greatest minds of modern science have not been able to provide us with much in the way of answers. This was Ken Wilbur's assertion in his book, "Quantum Questions". He demonstrated how, through letters and essays, the leading physicists of the twentieth-century had failed to provide answers to the heavy questions and how, as a consequence, they were all 'mystics'. I believe that he made his point.
I thank you for your book recommendation. I have sent a request to your friend, Wendell Berry, that he publish his book for the Kindle. Even if he does not care to do so, I will buy his book. I am curious who that Montana politician mentioned in the Booklist review on Amazon might be. I am also a bit embarrassed to admit that I have never heard of Mr. Berry. It would appear that he is more than a bit famous.
As you, no doubt, have gathered, I am a bit cynical when it comes to politicians and, equally so, the media. I admire your tossing out your 'boob tube' so long ago. I once had a gymnastics teacher who had done the same thing, after which he only read MAD magazine for entertainment. I still have one (a 'boob tube', not a MAD magazine). Yet, whenever I watch it, I am on guard. There may be a good thing here or there on that idiot box, but it is primarily a device used for mass hypnosis. It is my view that 'media awareness' should be taught in every primary school. Not that I would ever consider sending my child to a public school had I either a child or another option for a school.
Speaking of cynicism, politicians and the media, I don't believe that the President is the most powerful man in the world and I don't believe the media claims that George W. Bush is an idiot. I am sure he is one sinister son-of-a-bitch (offense totally intended, Barbara) who was a puppet for his and our handlers. I also don't buy the media's claim that there is a rift between him and his dad. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Also, Bill Clinton's hobnobbing with George H.W. Bush belies any notion of a meaningful difference between Republican and Democratic politics. They are two sides of the same coin. Nader was right. It is a choice between Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee.
I am guessing you are familiar with: www.usalamb.com. Do you think they are a good company? I used a boneless leg of their lamb in place of beef chuck in that Irish Stew recipe that I posted yesterday. It turned out pretty tasty..
How did your pursuit of Irish luck go?
PMT, I believe there may be a future for this blog too. Take it easy with the credo. One thing at a time is fine. :o) Everything you mentioned is worth a reply and an opinion of our own. But I'm obviously slower at the keyboard than you are, so I need time to format a reply to just one subject, much less three or four.
Sorry about that, ClearAyes. I wrote that last one last night and just modified it a bit for today.
Last night, I also started writing a post regarding Wendell Berry's 'The Burden of the Gospels'. I decided earlier this evening that I would have to break that one up a bit, as there are a few things there that I want to comment on. Future posts will be shorter, don't worry.
The Everybody Ought To Have A Maid clip is funny. I can relate. Us Floridians would just change the title to Everybody Ought To Have A Poolboy. ;)
Wolfmom, do you prefer to be called Wolfmom, WM or KW?
I agree with your assessments of Windhover and Clearayes and, of course, we all love to hear from Buckeye whenever he decides to pop in.
I have been to Big Sur. I guess I just assumed that ClearAyes lived further south. I realize that the Sierra Foothills extend over quite a range, but I was thinking that they reached from about the latitude of Bakersfield north to about the latitude of Modesto. I see now, in Google Earth, that they indeed reach up past the Bay Area. Looking at it again, I am now unsure that they go down as far as Bakersfield. Was I mistaken about that, too? I also see that the towns along the stretch of 99 between Fresno and Modesto are the ones that are sandwiched between Yosemite and Big Sur. It looks like it is a lot of farmland around there.
C.C.'s blog can be very time consuming, but I sure hope she doesn't get the impression that I am trying to draw people away from her blog. I can not really imagine such a thing happening, anyway. Her blog, being based on the crossword, has a built in purpose. I really did just create this one to give people a place to discuss things in more depth without overloading her blog. I hope that anyone who discovers this one understands that.
If Linda had to apologize profusely for making the old 'Military Intelligence is an oxymoron' comment, then people really are getting overly sensitive. It seems to me that most of the people who I ever heard make that comment were former military.
I look forward to seeing your mural :)
Windhover, I don't think I ever did thank you for coming to my defense and asking C.C. not to banish me. I appreciate that. I really enjoy her blog and hope to get back there tomorrow.
Wolfmom,
Is your brother a painter, too? Or is he some other kind of artist?
I've got my fingers crossed for your picture blog. Please don't take this the wrong way, but you might want to disable comments or have it moderated. There seems to be an endless supply of jerks who are only too eager to just trash someone else's work simply because that is the only way that they know of to try to empower themselves.
Cute baby goats, eh?
I cannot think of goats without recalling a particular visit to my God-Mother's ranch as a child. A little girl there (I cannot say for sure what her relationship was to me) was very cute but for one obvious flaw, her front teeth were missing. This is not normally strange for small children. Yet, the converstion among the adults turned to laughter when it was revealed that her teeth were missing because she had been booted over a fence by a billy goat. I have been respectful of goats ever since.
Question: While at BJ's buying club yesterday, I was keeping an eye out for that Pyrenees shepherd's goat's milk cheese you mentioned. Now, as I write this, I cannot recall the name of it. I know the name of it was the answer to a recent clue in the TMS XW, but the clue had nothng to do with the cheese. What is the name of it?
Okay...I've poured a much-earned glass of wine( I stretched big canvases this afternoon...I hate doing it but it is the only way I can get the quality...followed by several days of gessoeing and a tone ground, then good to go) and dinner is in the oven.
First...I think of this blog as a place to be honest and discuss what interests us. Kind of an alternate universe. I wouldn't leave C.C.'s blog completely because I am always learning so much from her and some of the comments from the community are so much fun. Some of the DF-ing gets to be a bit much...but, oh well...like I said before, people are just people.I'm just trying to make it a bit less important in my day because things will be radically different in a few months and I won't have the luxury of being at home all day...just like the old days!
Thanks for the info on the blog. My son-in-law who designed the website has been playing around with that thing that prevents robot replys so that I can check and see what is going on before allowing any posts. I just think that it would be fun to discuss the day's work as this is a very unique experience and I am all about unique experiences. I also have a friend from high school...she was my best bud...whom I just reconnected with after eons...she is an awesome muralist and has murals all over San Francisco...she is currently on the board for public art there. I am so lucky to have a wealth of resources to get this set up.
Basically you are correct about the mountain ranges...they pretty much extend the length of CA and into OR and WA...the names change as you go, but it is pretty much one continous range. Think of the west coast as coastal mountains, a valley...me...a small range of mountains(a few small valleys)...then the central valley...and then the bigger mountains with snow and skiing in the winter. That's about where ClearAyes lives and it has a rich history, including the gold rush up in N. CA. She lives in beautiful country. Where I live, we are about an hour away from the coast and about 4 hrs away from the Sierras, if you want to ski...Yosemite is to the south.
Sorry to be so chatty...you can call me WM if you like. KW is ok unless you think that it might show up on C.C.'s blog by mistake.
I find that you have an incredibly inquiring mind and your knowledge is eclectic and vast...I am an avid reader and tend to know bits about a lot of things and a lot about a few things...but your range of interests is amazing.
On the goat thing...Billies can be dangerous and they are the stinky ones...they are the reason that goats have a bad reputation for smelling bad as they rub all over any female they can get near and then the females smell bad(is that DF?) Jennifer's "ladies" are lovely and fresh of aroma, the cheese and milk tastes like grasses and flowers, and I have had it fresh from the goats. She is an absolutely amazing person and I have much admiration for her and what she does...plus, I think that she makes some of the best fresh chevre in the whole darn country.Equal to the best of French Chevres.
The sheep cheese is called Abbey de Belloc but there are a number of sheep cheeses from the Pyrenees that are very similar in flavor. Ossau-Iraty is another although, personally, I only buy it when the other isn't available. If you ever want to have a cheese discussion...I'm there.
Since this is such a long post already I might save a credo discussion until tomorrow's glass of wine...although, I agree that you aren't really believeing in a contradictory manner. There are definitely a couple of things I would be curious about...but maybe after "work" tomorrow.
Have a lovely evening: WM
Oops...One more answer. My brother, who is the youngest of the 3 of us, is an amzing architect. He specializes in spectacular homes, mostly around the Bay Area. Each one is different and designed especially for each client. When he created this "compound" or group of buildings, one of which will house a collection of antique cars...he thought of me to paint a mural...which has now extented up onto the ceiling and may also be a ceiling in the "theatre" and possibly some other projects for the same client.
I am liking this. No restrictions, just gab on about things that interest us, until we are talked out.
Let me see, which topic to go with? Abortion, evolution, religion, gender identity, politics, sexual orientation.... I know, TV.
I have to come to the defense of the greatest communication and education devise of the 20th century (My opinion, only). I know, it often caters to the lowest common denominator. So much silliness, but it does have its moments and more than its share of inspiration.
For example, how much longer would the Vietnam War lasted if we hadn't seen the destruction and atrocities on our nightly news.
1968 and the Chicago Seven, if not for TV, they might have been convicted. "The whole world is watching!" was a mantra that took hold of the Country.
Patty Hearst and the S.L.A., Charles Manson and the Family, O.J. Simpson and those gloves, all important milestones in American and legal history.
And most recently, where else would we have seen the hideous "Shock and Awe" scenes in Baghdad and the nonsensical "Mission Accomplished"
I know, that is news, but it is essential and irreplaceable. Not everyone has access to a newspaper and it looks like there will be fewer and fewer papers available.
Of course, books are wonderful. We all recommend them highly. But people who aren't going to read anyway just might get a gleam of clarity via television.
Better to watch Wuthering Heights on PBS than to not be familiar with it at all. And if it isn't Sense and Sensibility, why not All My Children? At least they use good grammar. And if people want to watch Dancing With The Stars, they will discover that there are dances called the paso doble, the waltz and the rumba, that not everyone who dances for a living is gay, and if they are, who cares!
Enough for tonight. Have a nice evening.
I'm with you WM, time for a glass of wine!
We're definitely in Gold Rush country, about an hour east of Yosemite.
The next time we visit my sister in Sebastapol, I'll let you know.
I know nothing about cheese, but I am willing to learn!
Ooops, not east of Yosemite, definitely WEST!
I was wondering how you got EAST of Yosemite...
I'll weigh in on the TV thing and then maybe we can talk about abortion or gender identity tomorrow...
About 2 1/2 years ago when I went back to painting full time I just quit watching television...no particular reason, just quit watching. I got so much done in the evenings. But, recently, I slowly added in a couple of CSI's, an 11th hour, NCIS, and as of 2 weeks ago Castle with Nathan Fillion...a definite hottie. There is a story with that if I can ever figure out this link thing.I find it relaxes me and I obviously like crime/forensic dramas, but I also love to read a really good British police procedural. I found that it all makes good background for quiet pursuits like needlepoint and even working a crossword on occasion. Along with all the things that ClearAyes mentioned, it can serve a purpose. Our girls grew up with Sesame Street and Mr. Rogers but we limited the hours they watched and encouraged creative pursuits...it worked. They are Mensa smart(take that, D) and they are lovely, street smart, charming young young women whom I like very much(that is differnt from love) and I am often amazed at what terrific people they are...Ok, bit of digression, but, the "idiot box" can be beneficial if used carefully...really. Watching an hour long TV show isn't much different than watching a movie, depending what you are watching. My mom loves to play along with Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune...as a retired teacher, she says it keeps her sharp and so far it seems to be working.
Ok that should do it...PMT, you may eventually regret doing this as My typing skills are improving and I can type more stuff in a shorte length of time...
A good evening to you...WM
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