Stand-Off at the OK Corral

There's so much writing needs to be done to catch you up. I promise - I'll sit down and do it ASAP. But for now I just wanted to tell you about two "pictures" that I couldn't take because I didn't have a camera.....but which were so good I hope I can memorize them into my brain.

The first happened at the close of my day yesterday. The kids and Hapapapa were in the play room and I went in to say good bye. The youngest little guy was standing up with a nerf machine gun strapped over his shoulder looking like a Revolutionary from the days of Che Guevara. Reminded me so much of my little girls growing up in the '70s.

The second image was this morning. I went out front early this AM armed with coffee and the lawn mower. As usual my yard work supervisors, Blue and Waylon, came out with me. As I've mentioned before, this is crow territory and when the crows are around they make a raucus for one reason or another. Usually it's because Blue is sniffing around the church property instead of staying in our yard. Today, even over the noise of the lawn mower, I could hear one crow going nuts. I looked up to see Waylon sitting in the middle of the street. Twenty paces down the street was a fat crow shouting out insults while sauntering back and forth like a sheriff threatening to draw his gun and fire. Waylon stood his ground and there ensued a five minute stare down. The crow finally turned and flew away. Waylon, always one to accept a dare, stretched out his right leg and licked it.

The 7 Degrees of Bright

It has been raining almost every day, except for the days Ms. Nimblethreads visited. Even then I think it rained some, but she brought with her sunshine. Wasn't very warm though and that leaves me wondering if it will ever get warm here. Even rain is OK if it is a warm rain.

Despite the grayness a lot of flowering trees have blossomed out. Very pretty in a soft way against the grey-blue sky. The camelia is covered in cherry red blooms and they are falling off now so it looks like red flowers blooming on the ground in front of our house. Yesterday I saw two yellow things in the way back and thought they were scraps of paper that had blown in. I trudged back bundled against the wind and the soggy ground (the grass is too tall to mow in one pass) and found out they were daffodils!

All the grey has lead me to meditate on what I callThe 7 Degrees of Bright.Perhaps it should be especially in reference to Portland, although it may have no geographic boundaries. Bright sun hurts Portlanders' eyes after a winter of gray. It's just a fact. And it takes a bit to adjust.

My idea of brightness is this: with 7 being the brightness of God and 6 the brightness of sun reflecting off the ocean or snow; 5 is a bright, sunny day with few clouds in the sky. 4 is the artificial brightness of headlights from oncoming cars at just a certain angle or turning on the bathroom light in the middle of the night. 3, 2, and 1 are the subtle variations of a Portland day.

For example, today the brightness is at 3 degrees - certainly gray outside, but with a crisp whitish sky. 1 is the murky dark ecru of daylight in the rain with just enough light to let you know it's daytime. That leave 2. The other day I experienced 2 as I sat in a parking lot waiting for the rain to subside enough to run into Goodwill. The rain was gray, the clouds were several shades of gray with a bit of grayish white. And then there was a fine strip of blue that radiated with 2 degrees of brightness - BEATIFIC and exilerating even at a mere 2 degrees. Ah, God is good.

Quarantined

This grandma is yucky sick. Little Gus has been sick almost since Christmas and I finally got the germ. Drippy nose, restless sleep, can't wake up - just roll over and switch channels. Blah blah blah . . . should be quarantined.

New Year, New Plans

Already nine days into the new year and Mr. Beachy and I are trying to organize our lives enough to make new plans. Yesterday and today we had time to be quiet and watch the birds while planning out our activities for the new year. The Jeep's "check engine" light is on and won't fit into the mechanic's schedule until Tuesday. That is keeping us trapped so to speak. Very good for us, because we both have a tendency to just leave the house and not come back until dark. Well, I must say, going "out" is more an addiction than a tendency. Today our only venture outside was to church and to fill the bird feeders. It is wet and chilly here, so it's been nice to have a soft chair in the corner of the kitchen from whence to anchor our activities. And it was a treat to see a flock of bush-tits enjoying the suet we put out. They are the cutest birds. Remember the one that got separated from the flock one year and stayed the winter? I wonder if he was among the flock this morning. One garden project that we'd like to do now is to build a small stone wall along the walkway where the rain water runs off. This could shore up a shade garden, plus keep the soil from eroding onto the walkway everytime it rains. I guess it will take measuring and carrying stones from somewhere down on Johnson Creek. We also want to buckle down and get serious about a play structure and sand box to use this summer out back - even more important than planting a garden because flowers and plants return every year, but children grow up and soon disappear.

A Thousand Splendid Suns

This book was so good I can't even describe it. I'd heard it wasn't as good as The Kite Runner so I was expecting it to be along the same lines. But it was so very much better that I can't even remember that 1st book. My heart went so much into these characters that I found myself praying for them! Now a much stronger awareness of Afghan women.

Of Many Things

Birds
This past two weeks I had several new visitors to the bird feeder. One was a yellow rumped warbler. I don't know how they name these birds. This one has yellow on it's chin and sides, not on it's rump. Same with the red bellied sap sucker - it's head is red, not its bellie. One morning I woke up to find a huge flock of Bushtits ravenously eating everything in sight. I love bushtits. Never saw one until moving to the North West. They are teeny, chirpy, little gray birds. They're about 3 1/2 inches which is just a bit smaller than a chickadee. And they travel in packs. I can just imagine them snuggling together to keep warm during the snow. The Anna's hummingbirds stopped coming by the feeder after the last big ice storm. I'm afraid they all perished.

Pets
Death also came to the menagerie. One day I realized our large, white, mystery snail hadn't moved in a couple days. When I removed it from the tank.....ooo did he ever stink. A couple days later there was a great sea monkey massacre. The latest crop of sea monkeys was unbelievable. So many. One morning I looked at their jar and they were all gone. Except one. One little one. That little one is still swimming around. Very mysterious.

Puzzles
I usually don't buy puzzles from Goodwill because who knows if all the pieces are there. But a few weeks ago I felt compelled to get one. This small puzzle box had openned and sstarted spilling on the shelf. First I started trying to pick up the couple loose pieces to put back in the box. Then I fumbled and had to pick up some that spilled. Then I realized some of the pieces had fallen down to the next shelf and some had gotten stuck in the shelf connectors. Now I had to get them all. After all that I figured I would buy the puzzle to see how many pieces were lost.

This puzzle happened to be a personalized puzzle - someone had ordered a map puzzle with their house at the center of the puzzle. The map extended two miles north and south, and four miles east and west. It ended up being a map of Coos Bay which is over on the Coast. It took a while, but putting it together was fun, as in, mindless activity to do when you're feeling too sick to do anything else, even sleep. There were about 12 pieces missing out of 500. Now I want to order puzzles for all kind of places, like this new house, and the farm, and OTR. Too expensive to order more than one. Where would you want to be the center of your map?

Bits

This week went by really fast, so just a few bits to keep up to date:

The retreat was mellow and probably as good as it gets. I guess I was hoping for a setting that had grounds and trails like on the farm. I did get to lean up against a huge sequoia tree that one of the sisters had planted in 1895. And I walked through the orchards and cemetery. The setting was OK and the lack of woods and wildlife the only glitch. So now my new idea is to buy a piece of wooded property and build a retreat center that will provide the aesthetics of my ideal retreat setting. I think you should see deer when your on a retreat.

SIE had his last gymnastics class for the year and first official performance. It was wonderful. If I can figure out how, I'll post some photos from this. But even the best photos wouldn't do it justice - there was background music and the whole atmosphere was like a mini Cirque de Soleil and SIE was fantastic!

This week I got a new washer and dryer. The ones that came with the house weren't working very well to begin with. The washer wouldn't spin dry well. That meant I had to wring out everything before putting it in the dryer. Then it would take a minimum of 70 minutes in the dryer no matter what or how much I put in. This summer I put up a really nifty clothes line in the back yard. But as winter has crept in, it's gotten harder to do the laundry. I accidentally stumbled on a W/D sale while buying trellis wood at Home Depot. This week I did my entire laundry in washed and dried in less than an hour! Yay!

Slug update: Contrary to popular opinion, I've become quite fond of him. I still haven't figured out exactly where he lives. I was worried about him when the old washer/dryer got moved out, afraid he might be inside one of them or squished on the way out. But I saw him again one night and this time I got to watch him make his journey from the basement door to the cat food. It took two hours one way. I am presuming he takes the same route there and back each time. He crawls 21 and 1/2 ft one way! How far he travels before he gets to this side of the basement door, I'm not sure. And now that the weather has gotten so cold, I hope he has more sense than to venture out. Even Waylon is preferring to eat in the kitchen instead of the mud room.

Commentary on Clowns

I woke up this morning, like I often do, with a bed-head that looks like clown hair. It's pretty funny. Reflecting on that fact lead me to realize that this is another gap in the generations. I grew up thinking clowns were kind and funny. My childhood experience of clowns is from watching Clarabelle on The Howdy Doody Show. She couldn't talk, only honked her horn, and she was nice. There was "Bozo the Clown" - I had his picture on my bedroom wall and "BOZO" is actually the first word I ever learned to read because his name was on the picture. I loved watching Red Skelton on TV. He was a very funny clown in some of his skits. I loved Emmett Kelley for his sad, sad face. He had a five o'clock shadow just like my dad.

My kids grew up thinking clowns are scary maniac killers. It seems there have been enough horror movies featuring clowns to have made a bad impression. When they were little I found a stuffed clown doll that I thought they would love. Instead we had to keep it hidden out of sight. "Not in the closet! What are you thinking!" I finally caught on and gave the clown away.

The only "contemporary clown" that is sweet that I can think of is the one in Tomi de Paulo's The Clown of God. I love the way he illustrates that folk tale. There's also the clowns in Cirque de Soliel's Corteo, which I've mentioned before. This leads me to believe those Steven King etal. stories/movies are a clear case of media distortion breeding prejudice.

So here's to bed-head mornings and big lipstick! Here's to innocent joy and clumsy tumbles! Here's to laughing at silliness and imperfections! And here's to kind acceptance of all our differences and the challenge to work for change!

In the Memetime

I've been "memed" by a dear friend, otr girl. That's a blogging term that is used sort of like playing tag. Am I "with it" or what? In this meme I've been asked to tell 7 weird things about myself, then to meme some other bloggers. There are rules. I can't follow rules. Maybe that should be my number 1 weird thing. Except I don't think it's exceptionally weird - don't we all spend our lives trying to escape rules? That's what Early Childhood Development studies, Art Degrees, Cancer Research, Recipes and Hippie Communes are all about. I also have a great resistance to passing on chain letters. I've often had the feeling that it's my duty to stop chain e-mail so people's time can be freed up for better use! I don't even know enough bloggers to pass this on to. So I'm skipping the rules, but I'll make a list. Some of these weird things many of you know. Some might surprise you. If you really want weird, my daughters are the ones to ask.....

2. I have a freaky memory for Saints' Feast Days. This carries over to pairing up saints' feasts with birthdays and anniversaries. When the Catholic Church redid its liturgical calendar I never quite caught up...so for the most part I remember the "old" feast days. I was born on the "old" St. Joachim's Feast Day and can't ever remember who took his place.

3. I love tiny things. I am addicted to bonsai trees and the little figures you see on bonsai trees. This love goes way back to when I was tiny myself and loved the tiny glass animals on display in the Sears window next to the bus stop. It was manifest when I made "minature environments" to sell at the Eden Park Summer Art Fair and in the Mouse Houses of today. Yes, I do believe in fairies.

4. I have a couple largish brown spots on my left cheek that I love. They are like big freckles. I usually forget about them. Sometimes people get all worried and think they are skin cancer. But they are inherited age spots. My father had the same spots, but on his right cheek. I used to especially like them because I thought I might be related to pinto ponies.

5. I worry about goofy things. For example, the past few nights I've been worrying that the new fish we got are too cold.

6. The 23rd day of the month is a favorite of mine. I'm not sure why. But you know how New Year's Day is like a fresh, beginnig day for most people? The 23rd of every month is like that for me. If I ever want to start a diet or new plan of action, the 23rd is the day to do it!

7.I love sea monkeys!

Quick Note

The kids left for Honduras last Tuesday night and I've been at their house without internet access. They told me "if it goes out, just push the plug in farther". Didn't work. I'm at the library now and only have 7 minutes left for today. All the dogs are fine. Hammy is sleeping a lot. Waylon (the cat) hasn't been making as much noise as when k-girl is here. The snow base on Mt. Hood is 200 inches. I think we are snowed-out of the farm, too, because it's been snowing here and sticking a little. I've been ODing on cable TV. There's so much to watch! I'll be over it soon, I hope. Guess I'll sign off now and hope to figure out how to use my lap-top at a coffe shop soon. Bye.

A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes

Last night Mr. Beachy had a dream. He dreamt he was writing a letter to St. Nicholas and this is what he wrote:

Dear Saint Nicholas, You don't need to worry about coming this year. There are no poor children left. There are no children being sold into prostitution anymore. You don't have to worry. Everyone has plenty to share. The governments have opened up their boundaries and welcome all who come. Schools are free to young and old alike. The churches have open doors and the bishops dress like shepherds now. They teach us all to pray. Everyone has a piece of land. Children have room to run and time to play. Yes, there's room for everyone. There's fresh water pumped to every house and everyone shares from their gardens. And no one is sick too long because the doctors are free. Yes, FREE! If you were to come today, St. Nick, you would be surprised. Sincerely, Mr. Beachy

Mr. Beachy was very pensive when he woke up today. And then he checked his shoes.

In Which Miss Ingu Settles In for Winter

Last day of November. It's been frosty up here on the farm. Part of my job here on the farm is to keep the well and the green house pumps from freezing. This is just a matter of checking the heat lamps in two of the greenhouses - usually switching them on in the evening and off in the morning. Also to check that the bulbs in the well and in the well house haven't burnt out. Blue likes the ritual trek out to the greenhouses. They are empty except for weeds that have grown around the edges, but there's often interesting things to be found - slugs, garter snakes, praying mantis, mice and birds that are smart enough to realize it's warmer inside than out.

This morning we walked out, still in pajamas to unplug the lights. The temp gage said 38 degrees, so we thought we were safe. But an hour later it started to snow. So back we hurried to plug them in again. No snow falling at the moment, but I think we'll leave them on for today. The forecast says snow is coming this way.

This morning I also performed the Biennial Birkenstock Ritual. This is done at the beginning of winter and part way into the summer. The straps have to be loosened to accomadate thicker socks; tightened to make bare feet fit. Slipping on two pairs of socks this morning, I realized it was time for the switch.

Right now I have some pin head oatmeal in the slow cooker and it smells about ready to eat. Yum! Settle back and think of Ireland.

Miss Ingu Reflects on Yesterday

Yesterday at Mass the opening song was "Shall We Gather At The River". I haven't heard that one in a long time. It transported me back through the ages to a time of sparkling innocence. I promise to avoid too many of these memories in this blog. They are probably a wee too maudlin for general consumption. Anyway, the year was 1967 in late May. I was spending a couple weeks in Eastern Kentucky between Beauty and Lovely near the West Virginia border with a group I belonged to, Volunteers in Appalachia. We had spent the week picking strawberries and had just finished wallpapering a woman's kitchen using flour and water for wallpaper paste. I'd also driven out along the hollers with the clinic nurses to make a few home visits. Near the end of my stay, unexpectedly, my 1st true love drove down to offer me a ride back to Cincinnati and also to tell me something of great import. He showed up as we were finishing the wallpaper job and were all covered in flour glue and bits of old newspaper. I had a gooey feeling in the pit of my stomach. The "important thing" had to wait until the next morning when we could climb the mountain across Wolf Creek. It was "our" mountain, having climbed it earlier in the winter of that year. I wasn't comfortable with this guy showing up because my plan was to enter the convent that fall, and I knew I better tell him soon. On the mountain, after a you-go-first...no-you-go-first period of stalling, he confessed his love to me and I confessed the convent. He proposed, then hesitantly promised to marry me if I left the convent. Hesitantly because a question of his fear of interfering with God's plan came up. It was one of those "The Hills are Alive..." bittersweet moments. We were quiet as we climbed down the mountain. Nearing the bottom we could hear soft singing. Through a clearing we saw a baptism going on in the creek and stopped to watch. They were singing "As We Gather At The River". *Addendum* Sixteen years later we drove out to see our mountain once again and it had been completely plowed down by a strip mining company! He left the next month.

An Odd Reflection of Miss Ingu's

Today I was looking in some drawers for a missing item, and I came across an old penny. It was one of those with Lincoln's face on one side and "one cent" written on the other, dated 1950. I've heard recently that pennies may be taken out of circulation. I've heard that many times. In fact, it occurred to me that the first time I heard it was in the early '50s. It was during primary school, I'm not sure which year, that our class learned about the threat to the penny. We were horrified. And our class proceeded to put on a little play about the importance of the penny. Isn't it kind of interesting that the first political play that I was ever in was at a much earlier age than I ever realized, and to boot, prompted by an unit of capitalist economy?

In Which Miss Ingu Finds Her Clogs

It looks like yesterday may have been the last sunny day for 2007. The weather report says rain for the next 7 days up here in the North West. Being it's the middle of October, that sounds pretty acurate. The horses have been removed from the field. I miss them. But it's better for them. Just before they were moved out we went over to the fence to chat. They were soaked! Their hide looked like a cat's that had been dunked in the river. The little bit of shelter from the trees wasn't helping. Plus, it looked like they had rolled in the mud. I found out later that the momma mare had slipped in the mud and her owner didn't want that to happen again. She miscarried her last little foal and we're looking forward to a healthy one this May. Meanwhile, back at the house the tin roof is tap-tap-tapping in a steady rhythm with nature.