Monthly Archives

April 2006

java, java, java

I don’t care much for coffee…I have the strong Mormon prohibition against it and, IMO, it’s just bitter nasty stuff. And then there’s the fact that I worked in a coffee shop during my early college years and I just lost interest in the smell after inhaling it for hours a day. Also, I was really shocked recently to learn that the only commodity that the US imports more of than coffee is OIL. Yes, we buy that much coffee. Incroyable!

[Note: The exception to my coffee dislike being coffee-flavored ice cream, which is awesome.]

However, my garden OOZES coffee smell. Just today I amended my soil with worm castings and coffee grounds. The sun was out and the soil was warm. My plot smelled more ripe with expresso than Starbucks. This is the first year that I’ve used coffee as a soil additive. And now I’m wondering if my tomatoes will have a slight java flavor? Hmm….

April 30, 2006

deep thoughts family women

what i learned from city council

[Note: coming soon will be a picture of E w/our local mayor–as soon as I find the cardreader for my dig camera]
–you’re supposed to wear black to City Council meetings. Black suits. with a button down shirt for men and pastel blouse for women (unless you’re Christina Shea, then you wear a pale green suit). me, I was really glad I had changed out of my jeans and t-shirt and was at least wearing the requisite black pants.
–not saying the pledge of allegiance feels weirder there.
–the mayor has her own on-call photographer to take PR shots w/schoolchildren being recognized at the beginning of the meeting
–when E is in front of a large audience, she completely freezes…with a cute, rather lopsided grin on her face
–E’s award-winning drawing wasn’t her most artistic creation. rather, it fit the event theme better than other submissions–a lesson E learned well in the PTA Reflections contest, too.

April 28, 2006

deep thoughts

open circles

When I was a kid and we had to underline and circle various parts of speech on a ditto page, I used to hate the circling part. Because inevitably there would be a word I would need to circle that was hypehnated and carried over to the next line. I would be confused about whether I should make a complete ring around each separate section of the word, or whether I should draw an open-ended circle around each side of the word.

I usually settled on the latter but it never quite felt right. I hated the feeling of the open-ended circle. It mocked the other neatly-ringed and underlined words on my page. It just sat there. Open. Unfinished. A gaping mouth expressing my own uncertainty.

April 26, 2006

family LDS world

amendment

Yesterday I send the following email message out to several friends and family members:
———-
Perhaps you’ve heard that the LDS Church has officially taken the position “that an amendment to the Constitution of the United States is necessary to protect and preserve the institution of marriage between a man and a woman.”

The following links show the church’s press release on this topic and Elder Nelson’s signature added to the Religious Coalition for Marriage.

Join me in a campaign to show that there are Mormons who DO NOT support this constitutional amendment. Please put this bumper sticker on your car and park in a highly visible space in your ward parking lot each Sunday.

If you can, please buy more than one of these stickers and hand them out to your LDS friends. Also, please forward this email to all who might be interested and feel free to spread the word via blogs, email lists, etc.
——–
Someone replied:
——–
I’m sure that there are LDS that don’t sustain the Apostles, but I’m not one of them. I have to admit that I don’t understand why you would have sent this…or why you would even propagate it to anyone at all.
——-
My reply:
——-
1) I sent this out because I believe I don’t believe such an amendment to the U.S. Constitution is necessary to preserve marriage.
2) I think it is important for LDS to know that it is possible for members to disagree on political issues and still be faithful church members. As it says in the press release on this issue:
“Because national campaigns on moral, social or political issues often become divisive, the Church urges those who participate in public debate — including its own members — to be respectful of each other. While disagreements on matters of principle may be deeply held, an atmosphere of civility and mutual respect is most conducive to the strength of a democratic society.”
I see nothing in their statement that says all church members must support this amendment. Rather, I see latitude for a spectrum of opinions.
——-

April 25, 2006

amputee

techno-dependency

Last night we got home super late from Claremont. So late that I quickly brushed my teeth and crawled into bed without plugging in my leg.

You see, each night I plug in my prosthetic leg into a wall socket so the battery in my robotic knee will be all ‘charged up’ for the next day. Charging takes about two hours, so it makes sense to plug in at night–the charging cord is only 2 ft long so it’s unwieldly to get my juice at any other time of day (while I am actually wearing the leg).

So first thing when I got up this morning, I plugged in and headed for the shower. I figured I could get at least half of a charge (about 12 hours-worth) during the time it would take me to get ready for church. I would put my leg on last thing and should have enough juice to make it through the day.

All went as planned. Until I put my leg on. And then I realized that in my haste to get to bed the night before I had neglected to replace the valve that completes the suction on my leg and I couldn’t find it anywhere. The valve is kind of hard to decribe, but basically it’s a small metal disk that screws in on the inside of leg socket. I remove the valve to ‘break’ the suction of my socket when donning or doffing my leg. Without the valve I can’t complete the suction that holds my leg on. So when the valve went missing this morning I realized I was sunk. No valve, no suction. No suction, no wearing the leg. No wearing the leg meant crutches. Ugh.

Fortunately I was able to riffle through a basket of spare parts and found an old leaky valve that fit my current leg. I knew that it would be annoying to wear a leaky valve–meaning that it would’t provide perfect suction and let a slow stream of air leak into the socket (uncomfortable), but I figured it would work well enough until I found my real valve. Which it did–I found the right one, with E’s help, under the sewing table after we returned from church.

So…as I plugged in, searched for a valve, etc this morning, I was stuck by how dependent I am on technology, and how vulnerable I am because of this dependence. Without electricity I can’t use my prosthesis. Without that small metal valve, my leg is no good, either. As much as I feel that I am in control of my life, so much of what I do depends on the metal parts and the microprocessor that facilitate my mobility. As much as I resent the way I must depend on such technology, I am so glad to have it. It allows me to be me.

April 23, 2006

make me smile

Make me smile…

Ride bikes with me to the University Center. Where we stop by our favorite bookstore and C&E spend their monthly book allowance as the owner chats with them about which books they’ve read lately. Then go in Trader Joe’s and buy some snacks for the weekend and a few necessities (milk, blueberries, goat-milk yogurt). Riding home we pass the kids’ art teacher walking to yoga class. Smile and hear her admiration that we ride our bikes to the store. Let E lead the bike brigade and watch her making good choices about crossing busy intersections. Arrive home out of breath, but happy. And see the newest pink rosebuds and double impatiens blooming on the porch and the clematis vine that has recently ‘woken up’ and is starting to climb the wall.
:)

April 21, 2006

deep thoughts friends photo

memory lane

It’s weird to stumble across a picture of my high school self on the Internet.

In 1988 I attended a journalism summer camp at CalPoly, sponsored by the LA Times. The photo they took of me and my cohort that year is on their website. I remember that camp well, and the little portable manual typewriter that I used in my workshop classes….

[Do you see me in the picture? Hint: I’m on the end of a row]

April 20, 2006

school

don’t know nothin’ bout history…

For the past few weeks, even the past few months, I’ve felt quite insecure about my path in academia. Sure I love the classes and the stimulation of learning, but I’ve questioned whether I really have what it takes to be a great historian (this feeling struck me especially hard in a seminar on Monday where I just wasn’t on the same page as some of my colleagues).

But, in the past day or two I’ve had some affirmations that I’m on the right track [Note the train metaphor…]. Just thought I’d share them with you…

1) I may be headed to Paris next month for a conference with some leading lights in the History of Medicine field.
2) I was offered and have accepted the position of ‘Book Review Editor’ for a really cool academic journal.
3) I’ll be involved in putting together an encyclopedia of Disability History.

Anyways, thanks for listening and thank you for your continued support. :)

April 20, 2006

family photo

Thanks to my bro chudacek for sending this link to the pictures of our 2000 trip to England and The Isle of Man.

A church in the heart of the town of Peel, IOM, where only a few of the walls remain. Where some of my ancestors were married: (I’m the blur in the middle of the pic wearing a grey raincoat). They’ve taken the headstones from the church cemetray and paved the park with them. Lovely, but a bit irreverent-feeling to be walking all over the headstones, IMO.

A steam train. The IOM is a haven of antique trains. On this teeny island you can ride this steam train to all the major cities. There is also a quaint electric train running the length of the island. The e-train has open air cars and is reminiscent of the streetcar in Mister Rogers show. There’s also a horse-drawn tram available for those who like their tracks to run slow…

April 18, 2006

women

ahhhh, cute

A group of LDS women from Australia have been sewing wool sweaters for penguins. These sweaters aid in the survival of the birds after oil spills. Read more here.
Glad to know that their knitting skills are being put to good use :)

April 17, 2006

amputee LDS

permablogger

Hey, I’ve been invited to be a permablogger at SunstoneBlog.com. Quite an honor, indeed.

Wny don’t you check out my first-ever post on “Mormons and Disability.”

April 17, 2006

family

Episcopal Easter

flower cross
Originally uploaded by pilgrimgirl.

We celebrated Easter with our friends in a local Episcopal congregation. The service was very formal, fairly stylized, and quite interesting to this family of Mormons.

My favorite part was the communion (which they allowed everyone to partake of). The priest blessed the wafer, then handed it to me. It was a nice personal moment, to hear his prayer as he looked directly into my eyes and gave me the ‘host.’ Quite unlike the Mormon tradition. And we were able to refuse the wine without any offense, too. :)

There was a gorgeous floral cross outside (pictured above). The kiddoes also participated in an Easter egg hunt and got some fun Easter treats. :)

A few pics of the kiddoes in all their Easter finery are now uploaded to flickr for you all to enjoy…

April 17, 2006