Tired.

It’s been an icky week.

T’was stupid of me to agree to dog/house sit this week.

I’m ready to sleep in my own bed.

And I can’t remember the last time I’ve had a whole day off.

And I have to work this weekend. (Sat. AND Sun.)

Woe is me.

Things’ll get better next week.

FOUND WHILE WANDERING THE NET

"Investigation is a subtle process, requiring patience and fine analytical ability, as well as a skill in cultivating one's sources. When torture is condoned, these rare talented people leave the service, having been outstripped by less gifted colleagues with their quick-fix methods, and the service itself degenerates into a playground for sadists. Thus, in its heyday, Joseph Stalin's notorious NKVD (the Soviet secret police) became nothing more than an army of butchers terrorizing the whole country but incapable of solving the simplest of crimes. And once the NKVD went into high gear, not even Stalin could stop it at will. He finally succeeded only by turning the fury of the NKVD against itself; he ordered his chief NKVD henchman, Nikolai Yezhov (Beria's predecessor), to be arrested together with his closest aides."
entire article

(The article) "goes on, including tales of Bukovsky's own experiences as a victim of Soviet torture and deserves to be read in its entirety. But this here is essentially the key point at hand. While you can obviously imagine or gerrymander or stipulate a situation in which torture might yield useful information, in practice the systematic authorization of torture creates an army of butchers, not a crack investigative team. Bush, Cheney, and those around them remind me of Nietzsche's line about staring too long into the abyss. They've become transfixed, hypnotized almost, by the evils they believe themselves to be fighting. Obsessed to the point where they've clearly developed an admiration for the brutal methods, ruthless dishonesty, and utter secrecy with which the enemies of liberalism conduct themselves.

But these things they're so eager -- determined, really -- to cast aside aren't frivolous luxury to be abandonned in times of peril. They're the very essence of what makes our system of government work. They're what makes it worth preserving, as a matter of ethics, but also as a matter of practice vital to the preservation of our way of life. Liberal democracy isn't a fluke occurrence that just so happens to have survived despite its drawbacks. It's actually a superior method of organizing a state. The idea that the country is being run by people who don't understand that is sad and frightening. The idea that the very same people claim to be embarked upon a grand mission to spread our system of government around the world is like a horrible tawdry joke, but doubly frightening in its own way"
via Matthew Glesias

The best thing about fall = Apples

The best apple dip = Carmel (but don’t buy the stuff that they sell right next to the apples – instead get the carmel that is supposed to be used as an ice cream topping – MUCH better stuff!)

The best (healthy) apple dip = 1 Tablespoon plain yogurt and 1 Tablespoon peanut butter with some dried coconut!

The (second) best apple dip = 1 Tablespoon cream cheese and 1 Tablespoon Mashmellow Fluff

According to wikipedia, Donald Trump is an RCA-er.
Maybe it's a joke
(I certainly giggled)

I had spinach tonight.
It was cooked/frozen/re-cooked
But I still feel just a little rebellious!

I have the prune “song” stuck inside my head.
Those of you who know it can sing along (and get it stuck inside your head!)

Those of you who don’t know it, can just look at me weird
(Everyone looks at you weird when you sing the prune song)


A baby prune is like his dad,
But he’s not wrinkle half so bad.

No matter how young a prune may be,
He’s always getting stew-ed
(We bow)

Little seed inside the pru-en,
Is it night or is it noo-en,
What’s in there, Whatcha doing,
Little seed inside the pru-en.
(We bow. Again)

Quote

Never hesitate to hold out your hand;
Never hesitate to accept the outstretched hand of another.
~ Pope John XXIII

Congratulations to the Valley High School Theater Department on their all expense paid trip to hell!
(Of course, I just sneezed, which probably puts me in danger of Fred's Hell, but YOU are "important enough" to be protested!
Here's a funny, slightly inappropriate, video, just for you!
I look forward to your anti-protesting protests!

For some reason, I've always thought that the Theme Song from the Smurfs was taken from Peter and the Wolf. But I listened to Peter and the Wolf this moring, and there's no Smurfs theme song there.

20 seconds of web research leads me to believe that the Smurfs theme song is an original theme and not stolen from some famous composer. (Does anyone know if this is true?) I hear it as an orchestra piece (with a clarinet introduction) - but maybe that's just my crazy imagination.

If it *is* an original tune, someone ought to play around with it and make the Smurf Symphony (because that would be cool). And then, orchestras could play the Smurf Symphony along with other classical music that was on the program (like Picutres at an Exhibition!) That's be super-cool!

It's cold and rainy.
A perfect day for homemade bread
I was going to make soup too - but don't have any bullion/stock handy.
And while I could run to the grocery store and pick up some - I'm not.

Sunday is really sort of an anti-shoping day for me
I grew up in a tradition where Sunday as a "Day of Rest" was taken literally. After church/dinner, we were expected to get into bed and nap. (My parents napped all afternoon. We kids spend the day being bored and thinking up games we could play in bed).

Sunday was a no playing outside, no shoping, no-nothing kind of day. Exceptions were made on occassion - and as I got old enough to make my own choices, I made lots of exceptions (laundry, homework, bicycle rides, baking, cleaning and even working on occassion!) But for the most part, shoping on a Sunday feels just a little bit unnatural. (Particularily in the afternoon).

And so, it'll a soupless day.
But cinnamon toast (on homemade bread) and Earl Grey tea is really good too!

Random
* It's back to school day around here, and I'm really really glad I'm no longer a teacher (is that a really horrible thing to say? Back to school day is always exhausting, and while everyone does settle into a routine - the first month is long.

* I wonder if I'll ever be graceful enough to walk and chew gum without biting my tounge?? (Do they teach that in ballet lessons?)

* Someone from a nearby school googled my site today. It makes me a little concerned (not much, because I've gotten more discrete - but still!!)

* So today, I took a walk around a little pond near my place. (There was a walking path I needed to explore). At the far end of the pond were ducks (lots and lots of ducks). They were blocking the path, so I walked on the grass to get around them. AND THEN . . . three of the darn ducks started following me, and then all the other ducks started following him. I kid you not - there were probably three dozen ducks waddling along behind me for about 1/4 of the way around the path. (I tried to take a picture - but the camera phone can't focus well on moving/waddling ducks). It was half weird, half funny. (And, yes, I'm going back tomorrow to see if I can make them do it again!).

* I was going to write a long treatise on my new brand of kitty litter. But that was too boring. Instead I wrote these three sentences about not writing about kitty litter. (Wasn't that fun?)

* The people who live in the apartment next to mine are smokers. And they smoke on their balcony. Smoke really bothers me. (Even good clean campfire smoke bothers me). I hate closing the window, but I hate the second-hand smoke wafting into my bedroom. Such a deliema.

* Did you know the word "boycott" comes from a fella who was named Chalres Boycott? You can't make this stuff up! Charles Boycott ticked off some of the sharecroppers working on his land, so they refused to farm for him (and got his servants to join in too! They also had his mail stopped, and canceled all of his food deliveries. Other people picked up on the idea, and pretty soon boycott became a regular word. (Isn't etimology fun?!)

* I really need to go to bed now.

It’s been a good summer.

I got to take my girl scouts camping and mountain biking.
I found a beautiful apartment, moved (and even unpacked a bit!)
I went to a storytelling workshop, an African drumming workshop, a diversity workshop, and got me a Franklin planner!

I paid off that pesky federal student loan, replaced my broken bread machine, and went jet skiing for the first time (I really really liked jet skiing!)

I started my new full time job (with benefits!), watched Serenity and am about half way through all of the Firefly episodes (excellent stuff!)

I read the Hero Project (excellent) and Saddako (five stars).

GSUSA gave me some special leadership awards; I got to spent two weeks with my grandmother, and had dinner with Papa VW.

T'was a good summer.
The list is not completely complete (But it never is).
I still need to see the Bodyworlds exhibit, build my private studio, and read Beloved. There's a lot of unpacking to do, and dreams of publication have been ignored.

But that's ok. It’s been a good summer.

And now, it’s time for the fall list!

Financial
Open savings account
Beging building short term savings
Make one significant payment on the Perkins loan
Expand my private studio

Personal
Start making my grandmother's Christmas present
Buy new brown dress shoes
Get a new library card (new town = new library!)
Church visits

Extraneous Fun
Pick apples
Take nephew to local Fort
More bicycle adventures!

Educational
Read Ben Franklin's Autobiography
Take a Brain Gym Course
See Body Worlds Exhibit
Take a community eduation course
Join a book club???