Sunday, September 30, 2007

Thursday, September 27, 2007

"It's Alive-Parts I and II"

I would dearly love to hang out with Mindy, but for her sake I'm glad she wasn't with me today. I went to a continuing ed workshop at a large hotel. Except for the meeting room we were using, the entire hotel was taken over by--I kid you not--the Texas Clown Association. Clowns were everywhere. Balloon flowers were all over the place. The title above was the actual title of one of their workshops. Conventioneers could choose seminars from the Balloon Track or the Face Painting Track. Among the speakers were Tom E. Boy, Mr. Puppet, and Ickle Pickle. Those of us attending "Developmental Disorders Related to Abuse" felt like we were floating on a small grim sea of reality in the midst of, well, Clown World.

This morning I could have attended a Clown Worship Service. The mind boggles.

Monday, September 24, 2007

Guest Blogger: Amie



Cub has posted some questions for me! Now, if I can just get up to the keyboard...

1. You are the same breed as The Boy. Can you give me any insight into what goes on in his mind?
...
...Huh? Oh--sorry. Well, it's just that so much is going on--ow! My ear itches--that sometimes it's hard to--Doorbell!!--I mean, when you try to focus--Look at that cat!
I'm sorry, what was the question?

2. How did you get your name, and do you have a middle name, too, or any nicknames?
Mama named me for an old song she loves, by Pure Prairie League. She sings it to me sometimes. She says that "Amie" means "friend" too, and that fits, because we are best friends forever! I don't have a middle name, but I have some pretty silly nicknames, especially Amie-Boo and Amie-Bamie. Daddy calls me Little Biscuit. Mama used to call me Little Pistol, but she says I've mellowed out a lot and it doesn't suit me any more.

3. You look very happy in your picture! What is it that your thumb-havers do that makes you the happiest?
Well, as you can see in that picture, Mama makes me happy when she plays with me and tells me what a good girl I am! And Daddy makes me very, very happy when he asks, "Do you want to go for a WALK??" I used to run around hee-hawing in my Little Pistol days; I don't do that any more, but I still prance and dance, and jump up and kiss him! Nothing is better than a walk!

4. Same question I asked Cletus: What is one secret of a blissful life that you'd like to share with your thumb-havers? Get out and walk!! Walk more, and it will improve your outlook on life! Or, just go roll in the yard! Like this:

5. Toys that make squeaky noises: yes or no? Explain your answer.
No, I've never been interested in squeaky toys. I don't chew much, but I like hard toys like Galileo bones, when I do chew.

RevGalDogPals or CatPals (or humans, for that matter), would you like to be interviewed by a cattle dog? Here are the rules:
1. If you are interested in being interviewed, leave a comment here on my mom's blog saying, 'interview me.'
2. I will respond by posting five questions for you. I get to pick the questions.
3. You will update your blog with a post with your answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.
Thanks for reading my post! Maybe I'll do this again sometime!

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

Cat blogging

Yes, I'm a dog person, but today I have some kitty news! One or two folks may recall that last winter our office cat, Grisabella, presented us with five kittens. The kittens grew up, were socialized, and adopted. Grisi was spayed. We thought we were out of the kitty business until one morning last week when one of my co-workers heard a peep from the weeds near the patio...and found a tiny black and white kitten with the longest whiskers we'd ever seen. We think it's a boy. He can't be more than four or five weeks old, and he apparently was out there all by himself.

This is a happy, friendly little guy, but he appears to have some partial paralysis of his back legs and tail. But he gets around all right, takes care of kitty business without difficulty, and doesn't appear to be in pain. My co-worker D., who fostered Grisi's kittens, has taken him home for now. Does anyone have any experience with special needs kitties? This one will be a good companion for an all-adult household. I wish I could take him home, but unfortunately neither the Queen nor the Scientist would be amused....

Friday, September 07, 2007

An "overcoming" Friday Five

Faithful Sally took the time to give us this thoughtful Friday Five, even as her son Chris is in hospital today for another cardiac procedure. Let's keep Chris and Sally and their family in our prayers--and thank you, Sally, for this Friday Five.


1.Have you experienced God's faithfulness at a difficult time? Tell as much or as little as you like...

We went through roughly six or seven years of infertility treatment, and during and shortly after that time I had two miscarriages, in 1991 and 1998. Those of you who have walked this path know the frustrations and the misery, as well as the indignities and humiliations we suffered at the hands of the medical profession. I do feel that God sustained us through all of this, and allowed us to grow closer through this trial, rather than (as often happens) farther apart. But our not having kids is definitely on my list of "why" questions for Jesus.

2. Have you experienced a dark night of the soul, if so what brought you through?

I started to say glibly, "see above", but upon reflection I don't think that's accurate. Through times of grief, loneliness, and depression, for some reason I have never felt that God was gone. Even when I yelled and raged at God, I have always felt like Someone was hearing me rage--even if that Someone was not responding in a way I could hear just then. Friends certainly have helped--have been my lifeline at particular times. And time itself has helped on occasion, too.

3. Share a Bible verse, song, poem that has brought you comfort?

"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope." Jeremiah 29:11

4. Is "why suffering" a valid question?

Certainly, although I don't know whether we ever get any answers in this life. Actually I think we should assume that suffering is an integral part of our existence on earth, instead of being shocked when it touches us. This is a fallen world, filled with fallen creatures who often choose to do destructive and terrible things to one another. And the earth has its own vicissitudes--hurricanes, tornadoes, floods--that cause great suffering and over which we usually have little control. Perhaps "what do we need to be doing about it" is a more useful question than "why".

5. And on a lighter note- you have reached the end of a dark and difficult time- how are you going to celebrate?

Quietly. In such a time of recovery, I would want to go away to some beautiful place, to be alone with my husband, to just eat and drink things that would nourish body and soul, and walk, and talk a little, and think about where we'd been, and mostly sleep.

Bonus- anything you wish to add....

My answer to #4 seems a bit glib to me, and I certainly don't mean it that way. We have a responsibility to prevent suffering whenever we can, and to aid and comfort those who are suffering. Our righteous anger at evil, and our efforts on behalf of those who are suffering, are necessary. I don't believe we can completely eradicate suffering on the earth, because we cannot completely eradicate evil at this time. But we have to pray and work to make a difference, however we can.

Saturday, September 01, 2007

An interview by SpookyRach

1. What is your favorite type of art? Do you have a favorite artist?

I love art glass, fiber arts, and painting. We have a few small glass pieces, including one of Josh Simpson's very cool planets. My favorite fiber artist is Penny Sisto, whose quilts are stunning, like nothing else I've ever seen. A few years ago I was wandering through a Santa Fe gallery, and from two rooms away I saw Morganna. She pulled me all the way across that gallery. I could not stop staring at her face. My favorite painter is Texas artist Kermit Oliver. His paintings are representational, yet filled with myth and symbolism. His still life paintings and studies from nature are deceptively simple at first glance; they are loaded with Oliver's own vocabulary of crucifixion, resurrection, death, transformation. Although none of my favorites seems to be online, you can see some of his work here.

2. What's the worst book you ever had to read? Why did you dislike it?

Algebra II. Need I say more? Seriously, I don't remember ever truly loathing a book I was assigned to read. If I didn't like it, I probably just didn't finish it, got through the assignment somehow, and forgot about it.

3. What is the wierdest thing that ever happened to you?

I have been pondering this for two days. I must not have had much wierdness in my life, because I can't come up with any ghost stories, eerie encounters with strangers, or anything other than the standard "deja vu" experiences (you do know that's a sort of neurological burp or glitch?) that everyone reports.

4. What is your biggest fear and how do you conquer it?

I am very much afraid of being sued (it happens to psychologists and therapists all the time, with or without reason) or called into court to testify for or about a client. I know that seems strange to people who go to court all the time, but if I am ever in court there will be someone there whose job is to make me look like a liar, a fool, or both. I try to dot all my I's and cross all my T's (if it isn't documented on paper, it didn't happen) and I avoid certain high-risk areas of practice such as custody evaluations. I would love to get out of private practice altogether, and have some hopes of doing that by late 2008. The problem is that nobody else in this part of town seems to want to do the type of work that is my speciality, so because I have a niche, it will be hard to completely close my practice.

5. If Mindy and I were stoppin' the towncar at your place, what would you cook us for supper?

Anything you want!! What a day that would be. I have a great "company" meal involving chicken simmered with green grapes, orange zest, honey, and white wine. Also a wonderful spinach lasagna that I adapted from the old Moosewood Cookbook. Or how about my beef/broccoli/red onion stir-fry with yogurt sauce? (WAY better than that sounds) Or maybe, if the weather was nice and we were lazy, beer can chicken on the grill. I would defer to the Scientist if your preference was for fried chicken, CFS, or some really awesome beef enchiladas. When are y'all coming????

Would you like to be interviewed? Let me know in your comment, and I'll come up with some questions for you!