Kudos

To Russia –
for giving our government a chance to stop hyperventilating, frothing at the mouth and take a deep breath.
I appreciate it.
Sorry that our guys weren’t smart enough to figure out a way for us all to save face.
I suspect you’ve had more experience at it than we have.

Just curious though: Rumor has it that you were the ones to sell Syria the chemical weapons in the first place. If you’re put in charge of seeing that they’re taken from Syria and destroyed, do you offer them a refund – or simply put it back in YOUR stockpile to re-sell to the next totalitarian regime that comes along?
~~~~~~~~~~
To the people for New York –
for sending Anthony Weiner and Elliott Spitzer packing and asking them to rethink their plans to re-enter public life.
I wasn’t sure you’d do that!
It was a nice surprise.
Too bad more of you couldn’t have shared your wisdom with people in South Carolina before they elected Mark Sanford again!
~~~~~~~~~~
To whatever demographic was polled about Miley Cyrus:
In December 2010, she was in the top 3 percent in influence and trend-setter and top 23 percent for endorsement. As of August 2013, Miley ranks in the bottom 1 percent for appeal, aspiration, breakthrough, endorsement and trust to people of America.

Here’s hoping the medias fascination with self-absorbed, sexually preoccupied, self serving exhibitionists has run its course.

Ps: can someone make sure the Kardashians get the memo?

Well, one of the reasons anyway!

OK, not at all...

but it made me smile!

Name change

I love the color, the heft, the number and the reality of her.

But my Osprey 'Ariel' 65

simply can't go on the Camino with me 

being referred to as 'Ariel';

too Walt Disney,

too many visions of ginger mermaids;

even though I'll be ending up at the sea

in Finisterre,

it just felt like the wrong name

for my backpack.

Meet Beatrix:

Beatrix is a combination of "viatrix," 

Latin for a female voyager or traveler  

and "beatus," Latin for "blessed." 

The name thus means something 

equivalent to 

"blessed traveler."

There ya go...

MUCH better.

We are not amused

Au contraire...

some of us were.

Is there any other mother of adult children out there who was as amused as I was this morning with the news report that Prince Andrew (5^th in line to the English throne) was told to get “down on the ground and spread ‘em” when he was stopped as an intruder by the Palace Security Guards?

I certainly hope the Queen didn’t waste this opportunity to say, “Don’t complain to me about my Security team not even recognizing you; maybe, if you came home more often to visit, they wouldn’t think you were a total stranger!”

Imagine my disappointment when I heard she wasn’t even there.
She’s still ‘vacationing’ at the summer residence in Scotland!

 Isn’t that just like an adult son? ….  coming around when you’re not even home – bet it was grab some food or get something of his out of his old room!

Things that made me smile this week...

Friends posts on Facebook about establishments 

for painting and drinking...

Sips and Splatters, Wet Spots etc...

I can just envision antique malls 

40 years from now 

filled with this crap...

this generations 'paint by number' kits!

Seriously, do people really hang this stuff in their homes?

~~~~~~~~~~

Meet what will become my new best friend.

I'm still learning all the bells and whistles

and trying not to be overwhelmed by the reality of it all...

for all her apparent heft,

'Ariel' weighs less than 4 lbs.

Here's hoping weighing her down by 20 more 

won't have me toppling backward on to the ground 

like a stranded tortoise!

And yes, I DID practice in the store 

with 25 lbs of weights in the pack...

but that was 10 minutes, flat surface,

walking through the aisles at Alpine Shop,

being distracted by all the other things 

I still need/want to buy...

not exactly the same as hundreds of miles over mixed terrain.

When you start putting your money where your mouth is...

it starts getting serious!

~~~~~~~~~~

This reminded me SO much of Art Boy
when he was little

that I posted it on his FB page...

sure he was delighted (not)!

~~~~~~~~~~

Didn't know whether to laugh or cry at the truth in this one!

~~~~~~~~~~

You can never go wrong with truth from 'StoryPeople'!

~~~~~~~~~~

~~~~~~~~~~

Clearly book editors need to think a bit harder

 about how a book title

and the authors name 

will work together!

~~~~~~~~~~

 Making plans for a trip to Iowa,

in the VERY near future,

 to see this munchkin!

 Can't wait!!

Hope your week's been good too!

The Tale of Two Witnesses

the ED doc (a Child Abuse Specialist) 

was dressed in her size 0 

cute little Anne Taylor outfit, 

complete with 5 inch 'fuck me now heels'.

I schlepped in wearing my JC Penney black pants
(NOT a size 0), 

a sweater and 

my flat, 'I don't give a fuck, 

I just want to be comfortable shoes'!

It was dress down day at the court - 

not that I knew that and

not that it would have made a difference 

for either one of us!

May I just say

this 'casual Friday' crap has

gotten waayy out of control.

We saw more flip flops, torn jeans 

and 'boyfriend shirts'

than I knew existed in the Midwest -

and that was on the legal staff! - 

and a pair of white sparkle pants 

that looked painted on
an old cellulite ass 

that should definitely stick to dark colors,

no matter what the weather or event!

The Judge, of course,
showed up in her ever elegant
black caftan robe.

BTW - parents 'stipulated' to all charges

and the kids remain in foster care 

until both parents receive psych services

and get jobs.

For the record,

the parents, for all their limitations, 

were the best dressed people in the court - 

beside our ED doc, of course!

Reason # 157 WICWTR

(Why I Can't Wait To Retire)

Never having to testify in court again.

Unbelievable...

the economy, equal rights, gun control, environmental issues, 

reforming the tax system, the budget, sequestration, the right to privacy, 

mental health for veterans, repairing our nations infrastructure,
accessible healthcare for everyone,
unemployment, equitable pay, reproductive health,
genetic engineering of food we put in our bodies,

the continuing mortgage and housing crisis,
abuses perpetrated by con artists working on Wall Street... 

the list goes on and on..

and, for all these issues, 

Congress can't get their act together.

But for bombing and committing acts of aggression
in the Middle East -
without any other country backing us
or putting their resources,
human or otherwise on the line  -  

bound to piss off terrorists and every wannabe jihadist 

and suck us still deeper
into the black hole that is that part of the world-

THIS they can all get behind.

WTH???

Just askin'...

Why is it that old men and making war seem to go together?

What's up with that?

Just curious.

Believe

Well played, Mr President...

to place the decision

for any involvement in Syria

with Congress;

knowing full well,

they can't agree about ANYTHING.

Not sure whether I see this 

as a brilliant strategic move

or a cowardly cop-out.

Let the chips fall where they may!

Solitary Sunday

Today I'm flying low and I'm

not saying a word.

I’m letting all the voodoos of ambition sleep.

The world goes on as it must,

the bees in the garden rumbling a little,

the fish leaping, the gnats getting eaten.

And so forth.

But I’m taking the day off.

Quiet as a feather.

I hardly move though really I’m traveling

a terrific distance.

Stillness. One of the doors

into the temple.

Mary Oliver

Heart still on Rosebud

 Alan - we've watched this child dance since he was 3!

Drumming is his new passion, 
along with his 'grass dancing'

 Sage - one of our HFH 'partner families'

Although in this heat, 

I can't say I'm not glad 

my bode is in AC

and not on the Pow wow grounds!

Can't even imagine how hot some of the dancers are in their regalia.

The beaded dresses 

can weigh about 20 lbs or more!

Headed out for some 'sisterhood' time of my own.

Stay cool, my friends!

It's a World Gone Mad

I have NO idea how it happened.

I’m blaming it on a weekend of 28 hours drive time combined with then sitting for 24 hours at the Pow-wow and all the blood pooling in my ass and not circulating to my brain - but, whatever the cause - it scares the bejeebers out of me.

I read an op-ed piece yesterday, found myself agreeing with nearly every point and, only then, noticing it was written by Newt Gingrich!
Holy Mary, Mother of God!!

Who would have dreamed the day would come when I agreed with anything written by the drug addled Lothario of the Republican Party.

But honestly… we’re seriously talking about heading down another freakin rabbit hole with our troops!

 We’re not even out of the last mess we got into – a decade ago – also supposedly over some mythical weapons of Mass destruction!

What is it about men and war?
How does a President who received a Noble Peace Prize get himself in the position of even thinking of inserting us into the middle of another country’s Civil War?

Totally agree – chemical warfare is an abomination.
But is it truly so much worse than drones, landmines, Uzzis, bombs and rocket launchers?
What’s the scale to use when weighing what method of killing someone crosses some line of morality? Don’t they all?

Just because we have ‘footage’ of people apparently seizing and dying doesn’t make it more compelling than stories of innocent people bleeding to death on the ground or being vaporized by a bomb.
Do we honestly think ‘combatants’ are the only ones that die in attacks during a war?
If that were true, there’d be no need for the term ‘collateral damage’.
And knowing chemicals were used says NOTHING about who’s responsible for using them?
Do we honestly think Syrian ‘rebels’ wouldn’t use them if it meant getting international press - resulting in folks being riled up and believing some line in the sand had been crossed?

I expected this nonsense and knee jerk macho response from Newts party…
I thought we were smarter.
The tables have turned.

I am NOT, at all, happy with that reality.

Back Home

which feels light years away 

from the joy 

and movement 

of the weekend

and a people who use

time differently

yet take some of that time

to honor our four legged relations,

the Horse Nation.

 I miss Rosebud already!

Mitakuye Oyasin

A Lakota phrase meaning "All my relations"; 

reminding us that we are ALL related.

And, as usual when family gets together,

there are some kooks

and great food!

(And no, Fry bread BLTs are NOT typical Weight Watchers fare...

that's what bonus points are for!)

There is so much brokenness in this beautiful place

and you can either concentrate on that,

as some have,

or you see the beauty

and strength 

in the broken places.

For me, the choice is simple.

The weekend is flying by...

can't believe it's almost time to head home.