Holly, the Taurus, Tuesday, April 26

For the record, for when we check back someday wondering when this happened.

Amanda Espinall was with her. Neither was really hurt, past scared and headache. Holly had a head bump/scratch that didn't bleed. Both felt a little achy the next day, but not enough they wanted to go to the doctor about it. They were on Carlisle going north south just past Constitution, when a truck a few vehicles up stopped to turn left. Not a good plan. The road had just gone to one lane there on the way to Lomas, and the cars stopped quickly. Holly stopped and didn't hit the car in front. The car behind her, though.... hit Holly, who was slammed into the one ahead of her, which bumped the one ahead of that. So four cars, our car the worst off. The woman in back had a cut on her forehead and the paramedics bandaged her but didn't take her away.

Insurance got us a rental car two days later, but Holly's too young to drive it so she and I are sharing the minivan, and Keith's driving the rental until more is known and settled.

I wrecked the Saturn two years ago this month. Our collection of sedans has dwindled to nothing. Keith has an old convertible Plymouth Valiant that's been gradually restored, in theory, I hear, and there's talk of stepping that up and Keith and Holly will share that some.

In other for-the-record news, Marty, Ashlee, her friend Veronica and I watched the wedding of William and Catherine last night, and then I fixed breakfast for us, we watched the balcony kiss(es), and then all went to sleep. (For me, back to sleep.)

Today in Old Town

Holly went to a long fundraiser yoga session in Tiguex park across from the house the McNeills are going to rent for the next two weeks, while they're here from France.

I walked around to take some photos for Just Add Light and Stir, and this happy music was happening on the plaza.

Earth Day 1970

That is a scan of the armband I still have from the Earth Day in 1970.

I wrote about it a few years ago in a blog post called Ten things I've Done You Probably Haven't, and that's probably when I made that image. I love scanners.

I mentioned attending a rally on the first Earth Day to Holly this morning and she jokingly said, "Well where is it? You don't seem very proud of it."

Proud of being that much of a packrat!?

When I went to look for it, I found this mention from last year at Good News Network, in the intro to this article: 40 Victories Since the First Earth Day: 40th Anniversary Timeline

As a senior at Snohomish High School in Washington, Cheryl Pearson organized a highway cleanup on that first Earth Day Day. Sandra Dodd of Albuquerque persuaded the principal of her high school to allow her to skip school that day to join a celebration 25 miles away on the Santa Fe Plaza. "There were speeches, there was singing. I still have the green arm band they gave me."

Well, cool! Only I wasn't in Albuquerque then. I was at Española High School, north of Santa Fe. And I cannot remember who else went. I think it was Jon Tsosie driving that white truck he drove for a while maybe. Not sure anymore. I think there were three of us who went. I remember sitting on a curb on the plaza listening to speeches and seeing the people walking all directions, because it wasn't perfectly organized. I remember the 3H0/Sikhs serving free bowls of black beans.

Finally an iris opened

Our house faces north and our yard is shady. I've seen sunny-yard irises open already, but here is our #1, early this morning, with my dark van as a background.

International Goat Cheese Day

I'm sure it's only from my own perspective, but this morning I got up to read my current-favorite blogs. Beth Full wrote at weouiblog.blogspot.com

It was finally warm enough to enjoy our lunch outdoors. We had a fabulous lunch at a cafe near Les Halles that was perfect for people watching while we ate. We shared an appetizer of crispy goat cheese drenched in honey served over salad. So delicious! Emma had a ham and cheese crepe and I indulged in a fabulous quiche. Dessert was strawberries for me and a sundae for Emma.

At Brenna McBroom's reports on her travels in India (brendia.tumblr.com/)

Blake asked what kind of cheese our teacher was using for the Spinach cheese dish, and Lhamo replied earnestly ‘cow cheese’. He went on to reassure us that we could use ‘any kind of cheese’, including ‘cow cheese, sheep cheese, goat cheese, yak cheese’. Mmmm.

I went with Keith to Costco the other day. He usually goes, but just as he was walking out he asked me to go and I went. They had a stand of imported cheeses, and I picked up some goat cheese with figs. It is WONDERFUL, and I made some bread just to go with it.

I didn't save the label, so I looked it up. When I bought it, I was told they probably weren't going to have it there always. It's from Canada.

No wonder it was difficult!

Pictures don't lie, they say. "They" hadn't seen this one. CLEARLY it will be difficult to tile this shower, NO WONDER I gave up near the top. (OH WAIT... not "gave up." Quit for the day.) I need to line the bottom with something high class, and not an assortment of plastic scraps and grocery bags. This was not photogenic. But the tile that's up looks good. I've procrastinated for years. I feel a little better. I hope I don't lose all steam.

Finally tiling, but needed a break

Dear diary... (I think I'm mostly writing to and for myself here, so others should feel free to skip it for sure.)

Tiling isn't like riding a bicycle, I guess. Maybe safer (Ray M. had a fall yesterday; Karl F. last year). But I've forgotten my "technique." And I don't remember what I used for a mixing tray the last time, and when I found the directions for my tile saw, they had caustic, noxious, bubbly by-product of some paint that had escaped the bottom of its can. (I love the internet, and printed out a new manual for the wet saw, but the internet can't tile the shower.)

I know it's not going to be a fast job. I have a half-futzy plan, and have been collecting found and broken tiles and bits of pottery I've dug up in the yard, and a few other hard-as-glass (some are glass) things for a stripe of crazy-quiltish mosaic), and I have a plan. And there's going to be a lot of cutting and piecing around the bottom where the new tile meets the old tiled pan (a custom job done with concrete and an offset drainhole, so I'm leaving that all there).

This is one of those activities that causes me to think about my interests and personality. I WANT to do tile. This will be the fifth tile job in my life, so I do it about every ten years. Twice I made the tile myself, too. That was really fun. Those were counters for bathroom sinks, though, and not a big old shower (little old shower, actually, this one is). I can think it and I can (eventually) figure out more efficient ways to do this and that, and I can enjoy the progress, but I don't like working by myself. And I get restless and want to go and do something else.

I'm using Thinking Sticks for spacers. (Kind of. I'm using the blanks I use to make the fancy colored and sparkly ones.) I'm using a "sawed off" plastic milk gallon for a water bowl. A plastic coffee "can" for mixing bucket. Paper food trays for a tray. That part's not right. I should go look for a paint roller tray. Yeah. That would be better.

Okay, I'm fortified and off to do it again.

Gratuitous photo completely unrelated:

First logo art for Unschooling Symposium

I'll add to this as more images come in.



Click here for The shirt Holly colored, to give away, and links to art to use (electronic coloring is no problem!).

Delicious, malicious nachos

Last night I played a game called Wise and Otherwise with *all* my kids and their friend Zack, and a "not your" (nacho) cheese joke came along.

This morning on twitter there were two similar stories by two different friends:

bonnyglen Melissa Wiley
4yo, singing: "I'm delicious, mean, and scary." 12yo: "Um, sweetie, you mean MALICIOUS."

hahamommy diana Jenner
Hee hee, random 20 year old memory: the Deaf kid who signed Macho Man as Nacho Man for talent show :D

and also from Diana:
hahamommy diana Jenner
Making Na'chos for the Boy. Spell it like that because my brain signs "Not Yours" every.time.

So there. Proves nothing except I know interesting people and that I am merrily and easily amused.
I need a photo to go with this. Just any photo.

Kids in a good mood

I've got mail!

Today I got a charge card in the mail, from Australia. MY charge card.

Several weeks ago, I knew I had misplaced one of my two charge cards. I looked all in and around my desk, and the floor, and the shelves near enough for me to have possibly flipped it into. Didn't find it.

I asked Keith to check the charge card records online, to see if it had been used since the online purchase I had made that caused it to be out on the desk. Nope. Checked again in a few days. Nope. So it wasn't worth cancelling it. I figured it was either under the desk or I had accidentally knocked it in the trash.

It came wrapped in pink construction paper, in a greeting-card kind of envelope, with a beautiful stamp of Cape Tribulation, Queensland. No return address, no note.

I must have packed it with a book someone ordered. I could check that charge card record again, and see who ordered a book that day from Australia, but as the person chose anonymity, I'll leave it at that. The person also chose generosity and honesty. THANKS!!! Thank you very, very much.

Gratuitous, unrelated photograph. A monkey I did not see in India, but Brenna McBroom did! (Blake Boles took the photo.)

Twenty-seventh Anniversary (and a lizard)

First, the lizard. Holly was showing Keith a yoga stance she had learned, and while she was looking at the carpeting upside down, she came face to face with this guy. He did not run away, but hadn't been there long as he was still... lifelike in many ways. I won't say "warm," he being a reptile and all, but we didn't do CPR.

Keith and I were able to celebrate our 27th anniversary dinner with Kirby (visiting from Austin), Marty and his girlfriend Ashlee, and the lovely Miss Holly Dodd.



There is no one great photo, but everyone looked good in at least a couple of them.

Interesting review of my book :-)

This is a good sort of review, from a mom named Heather:

Austin and I went to the zoo the other day. We ran into several parents ignoring children as they walked behind them crying or saying things like, "Hurry up! Or I'm going to leave you!" Austin was getting very frustrated and feeling really sad for these kids. He said to me, "Mom I really think when we leave the house you should have a backpack full of Sandra Dodd's book and when people are being mean to their kids you should hand them one."

I wanted to share this story with you and say thanks for the impact you have made on me. I've changed and Austin sees that and wants it for other people.

Oh! Eight minutes after posting this, I saw a comment on an Edinburgh home ed site:

Sandra's Big Book of Unschooling changed our family life in so many positive ways I'm really looking forward to hearing her speak in person.

(I'll be speaking there May 21. ***)


Holly and Ljuba in the not-very-wilds of New Mexico, looking at tumbleweeds and prairie dogs.

Note for future photography: To take a photograph of someone holding a single tumbleweed, avoid having 180 tumbleweeds in the background. (No, I didn't count them.)