Author: Jana

  • MLK II

    Through violence you may murder a murderer, but you can’t murder murder. Through violence you may murder a liar, but you can’t establish truth. Through violence you may murder a hater, but you can’t murder hate.

    Darkness cannot put out darkness. Only light can do that…. Difficult and painful as it is, we must walk on in the days ahead with an audacious faith in the future. When our days become dreary with low-hovering clouds of despair, and when our nights become darker than a thousand midnights, let us remember that there is a creative force in this universe, working to pull down the gigantic mountains of evil, a power that is able to make a way out of no way and transform dark yesterdays into bright tomorrows. Let us realize the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.
    ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

  • green sauce envy

    Dear Internet:
    Is there anywhere that I can buy Del Taco’s green sauce by the bottle?
    As it is, I am scraping the change out of the corners of my purse so I can head to DT for lunch. I am considering ordering their world-famous bean & cheese burrito w/green sauce, with just a few minor modifications:

    “Um, can I get that bean & cheese burrito without the cheese?”

    “And can you hold the beans, too?”

    “And while you’re at it, just skip the tortilla, ok?”

  • exponent

    For those of you interested in the Mo world, check out my inagural post on exponentblog.

    I’ve been asked to be a bi-weekly columnist. I’m humbled by the request because I’m following in the footsteps of women who I’ve long admired for their tenacity, humor, and honesty.

  • a rose is a rose


    a rose is a rose I
    Originally uploaded by pilgrimgirl.

    As much as I want to deny it–showing my hard-edged academic, goal-oriented, not afraid to get my hands dirty in the garden, self–I am a hopeless romantic.

    Like this week when I was at Trader Joes (ostensibly buying milk and bread), these pale pink roses just called out to me. I bought them, put them in a crystal vase and sat them on the table, just admiring them. Just having them there made me feel so good.

    Then there’s our bedroom…John and I got this super-lovely canopy bed from a fellow freecycler. I quickly pulled out a piece of pale peach silk from (that I’d received from my friend Carole awhile back), sewed up a coverlet, and put it on the bed. I plumped up the pillows, and smoothed every wrinkle. Beautiful! Recently, John and I also hung some curtains from the canopy–creating our own romantic (and private) space. It’s like waking up at a B&B every morning!

    The practical side of me says “roses…they’ll die, what a waste of money.” But the romantic side of me says “Roses…how beautiful…”

  • the cello store


    the cello store
    Originally uploaded by pilgrimgirl.

    On Monday we bought C a new cello for his Honor Orchestra audition. It was quite a sight to be in a music store surrounded by thousands of dollars worth of beautiful musical instruments.

    E took pictures as C tried different cellos. The above is one of my favorites because it captures the symmetry of the instruments, while showing the subtle differences in stain and shape.

    C chose a very delicate and lightweight instrument. It has a sweet sound. More than anything, hearing it played reminds me of C’s own sweetness. :)

    C told me that he was thinking of naming his cello Diana, because it’s such a beautiful name. I have to say that I agree.

  • big corona at sunrise


    big corona at sunrise
    Originally uploaded by pilgrimgirl.

    Why I go to the beach in the winter:
    1) I’m the only one there
    2) It’s warmer there than in Irvine
    3) Because I can :)

  • leg(s)

    Two weeks ago I had new cosmesis, or “skin” put on my artifcial leg. To do so I went to a clinic where I’d never been before to meet with the tech who’d be designing my leg. It isn’t a quick process. I’ve already written a bit about that here.

    So I meet with this Tech and we talk about what I like my leg to look like. I point to some problem areas on my current skin (the wrinkly calf, the hole in my ankle, etc). I tell him that I like firmer foam around my thigh, with a softer–more bendable–style at my knee. We discuss different aspects of my lifestyle. Tech spends about 10 min looking at my real leg and taking measurements. He tries not to register shock at my 16″ calf (yes, those muscles are big!). He tells me that he always downsizes the leg a bit from the true size, “to look more shaplely and natural.” Most Techs actually trace my left leg so they can get the shape just right. This Tech, though, says he can do it from just a visual and some measurements. I decide to trust him on this.

    Then he goes back into the shop for a few hours and emerges with a “shapely” leg.

    Tech’s done a fine job. The leg is smooth and well-shaped. It matches the one on the left nicely. I put it on and he has me walk all around the office and look in all of the full-length mirrors. The receptionist and other techs form a line down the hall and give their opinions. Then I try on various pairs of pants to see if the leg looks right. Tech makes a few adjustments and then sends me on my way. The strong smell of chemical adhesive that exudes from my leg is disconcerting. I roll down the windows in the car on the drive home.

    All day long I find myself trying to get used to the new feel. I touch my calf and it is oddly spongy. I put on black stockings and find that I like the way it looks. It’s been a very time long since I wore a short skirt.

  • A thought for MLK day

    “Now the length of life as we shall use it here is the inward concern for one’s own welfare. In other words, it is that inward concern that causes one to push forward, to achieve his own goals and ambitions. The breadth of life as we shall use it here is the outward concern for the welfare of others. And the height of life is the upward reach for God. Now you got to have all three of these to have a complete life.”

    If you would like to read the whole sermon (and hear some clips), it’s available here.

  • Make me smile…

    –seeing pictures of my neices and nephew.
    –when you come home from work in the middle of the day just to eat lunch with me.
    –taking a walk. by myself. in the morning. while the dew is still clinging to the cobwebs in my dwarf peach tree.
    :)

  • brown paper packages…

    I was wrapping up a (belated) holiday box to send to my in-laws last week. I piled all the stuff inside the box and pulled out a couple of rolls of wrapping tape (one tan, one clear) to tape it all up.

    I realized as I was wrapping, that for me wrapping tape has really ruined parcel post. I long for the days when packages were all wrapped in brown paper and tied up with string. And I think the string is what made it really satisfying.

    That magical string–that was knotted in places and could double as a handle when a package was to bulky to carry otherwise. I really miss it.

    In my 19th-century fantasy life (the one I live when I’ve leapt headfirst into some primary source documents), everything is tied with string. When I go to the local store to stock up on essentials the shopkeeper ties string around my paper parcel of tea, my carefully chosen spices, and the newly-milled packet of whole wheat flour. Even the length of calico that I buy E’s new dress is tied up with string. Of course I carefully untie the string from my parcels and add it to the ball that I keep in the back of my bureau drawer.
    :)

  • David does it again…

    My bro came up with another really cool find. Ever since I read about pandora on his site, I’ve not listened to anything else!

  • I am so not a football fan

    When I was 13, Rich Karlis–the then-famous barefoot kicker of the Denver Broncos–kissed me in front of my entire middle school. Rich was visiting the school to speak at an assembly, and I had walked in late to the gym, and…voila, he spied me sneaking in (‘cuz it’s hard to sneak on crutches, which I was using at the time), and planted a big kiss on my cheek.

    We’d been friends for about a year. He often came to the Denver Children’s Hospital to visit us cancer patients, to cheer us up. Sometimes he even brought his buddies–guys like John Elway–to visit, too. He got us tickets to Broncos games, brought us Broncos T-shirts, etc.

    Of course all of us teen girls were completely smitten with the handsome and famous football player. We especially appreciated his hugs and kisses. What a great feeling to get attention from a hunky athlete!

    During the time when I was kissing Rich I was an avid football fan. Though I never bother with such things now. But when I do hear that the Broncos are having a good season, I get a warm fuzzy feeling. And, the last time they won the Super Bowl I watched the game and cried. Rich was long-gone from the Broncos, but my tears were still ones of joy. And of gratitude for the famous guy who gave so much hope and love to us kids from the 4th floor.