Sometimes I just feel overdue for a rant

Robert Gibbs is an asswipe.

You may quote me on that.

As the Rude Pundit put it:

So, let's get this straight, Bobby G. We on the left warned your boss and the Democrats that every time you reached out your hands to the Republicans, those fuckers would just gnaw on 'em. But you kept on with the effort of bipartisanship, watering down bills and watering 'em down. Anyone with a lick of sense knew that the GOP was just setting you up: force 'em to compromise and then make sure that what gets passed does just a scintilla of what could have been done. On bill after bill these mad negotiations occurred, and now you're accusing us of not living in reality?

The White House Press Secretary decided to kick the "professional left." Well, let me tell you something, Bobby boy, there are a lot of us, unprofessional but progressive, who knew from the get go that Obama was not a progressive, so we didn't expect miracles day after day, believe me. But, and I really want you to pay attention to this, treating us like shit is not winning you friends.

Sure, you've accomplished a lot. But it would take very little effort to accomplish a lot more. Recess appointments. Just saying. Close Gitmo. End DADT; it doesn't take another study, it requires an executive order.

Oh, and transparency. We count that promise not unfulfilled but broken.

Btw, I know Obama does not believe in gay marriage. He's said so from the beginning. I don't expect him to change. But he can STFU about saying he believes in equality, because it is patently clear that he does not. "Fierce advocate" my queer ass. There is zero credibility there.

It might be a good idea for the White House to consider working with the left, since we share more goals with the White House than the Republicans do. Or do we? Actions do speak louder than words and it is clear that Obama desperately wants to work across the aisle but has little interest in working with progressives. When he had public opinion with him he still would not fight for public option.

I will continue to support progressive Democrats. And the Obama team ain't getting a single penny out of me. The reasons should be obvious.

Perhaps it is time for Mr. Gibbs to spend more time with his family.

Glenn Greenwald summarizes it nicely.

--the BB

Heart thread - 08/10/2010

Tonight's prayer call comes from that most loving northern prayer warrior, David:

Prayers begged for Rosemary please. In the past I've written how this is Rosemary's second round with cancer; how she is one of the fiestiest friends I've ever seen face this challenge. Well according to my sister Jenny, who is primary caregiver when David, Rosemary's husband has to be in Ottawa during the week for his job, the days are very few and numbered before our little Armenian-Canadian is to move into paliative care. David and Rosemary have two sons, not even yet adult, who are primary reason for all that Rosemary has undergone to beat this. I ask your prayers for Rosemary my little Armenian nightengale, for the grace of a good and peaceful passing, for her husband Dave and their two boys.
I'd also ask prayers for my baby sister Jenny who a week before Rosemary's latest turn burried her father-in-law.

Begging again, prayers for Kirsten please as you might remember is also in a second round fight with cancer and is undergoing a really aggressive experimental course of treatment in California.

Prayers for M. & J. most particularly that they be held close in that 'Love beyond our wildest imagining' to quote Mam's favorite Giant.

Prayers please for two cherished sisters who are undergoing a series of major transitions in their lives which are not only impacting on their professional careers but on the location where they live. For one of these sisters in particular there has been real pain, struggle and a lot of letting-go.

Prayers for the people of Pakistan. Yet again the developed world is being invited to change compassionately, to open itself to radical transformation, but once again I'm deeply concerned that the west will be too busy making war and gorging itself to realize there is no 'us' and 'them', and that we are all diminished by these unnecessary deaths in Pakistan.

For the people of Afghanistan; here the list of need and horror is too long for this medium.

And the good news; Mam was cleared by her surgeon this afternoon. Though she is left with a limit of flexibility in her left index finger, the whole team were really amazed at her remarkable recovery, having regained a lot more mobility in her left arm and wrist than they expected. Another night staying with my sister Joanne and her husband, and then the plan is for Mam and Charlie her rescue corgi to go home tomorrow. I'm planning to go out Thursday to spend the day with her and so see what might need to be done. On the phone just now as we celebrated this good news, Mam specifically asked me to thank my 'Giants', and then she used my cousin Frank's words- exactly- 'you tell them they make all the difference.' That's you folks- beloved all.

She also specifically sent her love along to one particular Giant and his spouse who it has been her great joy to uphold in prayer daily for almost four years now. 'Tell him, through-out all this he was never forgotten, and send him my love.' You know who you are.

Rosemary and her family, Kirsten, Jenny, two cherished sisters in transit, Afghanistan and Pakistan, and thanks- joyous, heartfelt thanks for Mams recovery.

Thank-you beloved Giants, I love you all.

love always- always Love

David@Montreal

Mimi always shares these promptly but while she is off infiltrating the British Isles I want to invite all our friends to join in holding these folks in our hearts.

The congregation of San Gabriel is going to move - again - at the end of this month. From their founding they have been a pilgrim people. Pray for a smooth move and for the Spirit to sustain hearts and spirits (and bodies). They will be next to a micro-brewery, so perhaps the spirits are already covered.

For Mimi, Cathy, and Jonathan in their adventures.

--the BB

Praying the headlines

From Google News:

More than 700 die in landslides in China

CNN - ‎42 minutes ago‎

By the CNN Wire Staff Beijing, China (CNN) -- The death toll from mudslides in northwestern China rose to 702, state-run media reported Tuesday.

Moscow mayor cuts meetings due to heat, smog

RIA Novosti - ‎45 minutes ago‎

MOSCOW, August 10 (RIA Novosti) - Moscow mayor Yury Luzhkov has urged members of the city government to cut back on meetings and discuss important matters over the telephone because of the scorching heat and acrid smog in the Russian capital.

More rains add to Pakistan's flooding misery

CNN - ‎26 minutes ago‎

By the CNN Wire Staff Islamabad, Pakistan (CNN) -- Some 14 million people have been affected by the torrential rains and flooding that have left more than a thousand dead in Pakistan, a spokesman for the national disaster authority told CNN Tuesday.

UN: Civilian Casualties Rising Sharply in Afghanistan

Voice of America - ‎1 hour ago‎

Photo: AP The United Nations says civilian casualties are on the rise in Afghanistan, with insurgents increasingly responsible for harming Afghans.

--the BB

Were you even aware?

The US media seem to be ignoring this or giving it minimal notice.

The flooding just keeps getting worse and worse. On Saturday, the UN estimated that 4 million people were affected by the flooding in Pakistan. By Sunday they revised that estimate to 6 million people. Today, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs estimates that over 13 million people are affected.

It is no wonder that a UN officials are saying this is bigger than the 2004 tsunami. In fact, that would make it bigger than the combined number of people affected by the Tsunami, Haiti earthquake and 2005 Kashmir eartquake...combined.

That's from the UN Dispatch.

Can we let this sink in?

Thirteen million.

Let us pray.



Flood affectees evacuating in Dera Ismail Khan. PHOTO: EXPRESS

h/t to LaughingPlanet where you can read more and find channels to help.

The UN is also launching an appeal.

--the BB

I wonder

Will I live to see the American corporatocracy turned back to a democracy?

Frankly, I doubt it. I want to believe that what I have witnessed in my lifetime is not the death of constitutional democracy but I fear that I have.

And we have "conservative" policies to thank for it. Worship at the altar of business, deregulate, screw the working public, convince everyone government is evil and incompetent (and prove it when you are in power)... this is where it leads.

Sigh.

Blogger is run by Google. May I just say, fuck Google and Verizon. They have no right to tell the FCC what it can or cannot do.

Hey, FCC! Grow a set and tell the telecoms what they may and may not do. That's your job, in the interest of the public.

--the BB

No, it's not a rat's nest

I always marvel at how much dark brown there still is in my hair, though every buzzing shows more white. Tonight it seemed to have a lot of reddish blond. On my head, it all looks silver to me.

Yep, haircut night. I was getting a bit shaggy. Also watered the yard and researched where in ABQ I could find someone to repair my refrigerator. Its fan has gone to be with Jesus.

Dang, this is as mundane as a Facebook posting. I must do better.

[But I really have not felt inspired to post, ponder, or rant lately.]

Though I will not allow them to post, there will be at least three Chinese spam comments on this post by midnight tomorrow. They multiply like rabbits. Wait for them.

--the BB

La cosecha

This evening I chased the sparrows out of the peach tree (they sneak in under the netting then get caught in it) and harvested Elberta peaches, Thompson seedless grapes, and Santa Rosa plums. There are some peaches still left on the Elberta. I left the ones the birds have started so they can finish them. The Red Haven peaches look lovely but are hard as rocks right now.

So here is the bulk of the 2010 harvest. I can testify that they taste good.

--the BB

32 military suicides in just one month

Bob Herbert had some choice words to utter yesterday:

As if there is not enough that has gone tragically wrong in this era of endless warfare, the military is facing an epidemic of suicides. In the year that ended Sept. 30, 2009, 160 active duty soldiers took their own lives — a record for the Army. The Marines set their own tragic record in 2009 with 52 suicides. And this past June, another record was set — 32 military suicides in just one month.

War is a meat grinder for service members and their families. It grinds people up without mercy, killing them and inflicting the worst kinds of wounds imaginable, physical and psychological. The Pentagon is trying to cope with the surge in suicides, but it is holding a bad hand: the desperate shortage of troops has forced military officials to lower the bar for enlistment, thus letting in people whose drug and alcohol abuse or other behavioral problems would previously have kept them out. And the multiple deployments (four, five and six tours in the war zones) have jacked up stress levels to the point where many just can’t take it.

The G.I.’s have fought valiantly in Iraq and Afghanistan. Thousands have died and many, many more have suffered. But the wars have been conducted as if their leaders had been reading from a lunatic’s manual. This is not Germany or Japan or the old Soviet Union that we’re fighting. But after nearly a decade, neither war has been won and there is no prospect of winning.

Go, read the whole thing here.

--the BB

Remind me again which party is supposed to represent fiscal responsibility?

Iraq war reconstruction funds graphically illustrated.

h/t to Digby

--the BB

Domesticity

I ran myself ragged cooking this weekend. Another Sunday dinner (I've been on a roll). Tonight's guests insisted on a photo of me with the peach pie. First pie I have made in about forty years. The crust is made with Crisco shortening the way my mother made it (recipe from Fanny Farmer Cook Book). The peaches were picked from my Elberta peach tree this morning.

This was one labor-intensive meal. I had to drop the peaches in boiling water, then ice water, then peel them. I had to cut off the area the birds had attacked (on about a third of them).

Well that was dessert (except I had H-D vanilla bean ice cream and peach sherbet in the freezer to serve with the pie - sort of a peaches and cream theme, but I forgot them).

For antipasto we had salame, slices of fresh mozzarella, shreds of string cheese, crackers, sesame bread sticks, pickled giardiniera, olives, and (non-Italian) salted peanuts. We started with Italian grapefruit soda over ice to stay hydrated on a summer day.

The main course was lasagne with garlic bread and salad. I assembled it all yesterday. Homemade egg noodles, of course, as playing with my pasta attachment is the source of my weekend meal inspiration.

There was a story to the noodles though. Harris' Law: "Nothing Is Ever Easy." I measured out the flour and made a well in it. Fortunately I did not try cracking the eggs into the well as I usually do. Grabbed some eggs from the fridge that I thought had a use-by date of July 2010. Hmm, probably July 2009. When I cracked them open they were half dry, having shrunk away from the shell. Tossed those.

So I got the other eggs in the fridge, the ones from hens raised by a friend at church. Made the dough and it just fell apart when I tried to run it through the rollers - not as dough usually pulls apart on the first few runs. Way too dry a dough. The were not supermarket size "large" eggs, presupposed by my recipe. Scrapped that batch of dough.

To the supermarket for fresh LARGE eggs. This time the egg and flour dough behaved as it ought. So I made the long broad noodles. Then I cooked them in boiling salted water, cooled them in ice water, dried them with a towel, and layered them in the pan with sauce and cheeses.

Harris' Law strikes again but without consequences. I thought I had bought more ricotta cheese. I am still certain I did. But I could not find it yesterday. Anyway, what I had worked.

For the sauce I sauteed a large onion and some minced garlic in olive oil. To that I added three cans each of diced tomatoes and tomato sauce (OK, here I was not using tomatoes out of my yard; had to cut myself slack at some point). I had a package of hot Italian sausage and a package of ground beef (no added hormones or antibiotics). I squeezed the sausage out of its casings and using the meat grinder attachment I reground these together, partly to blend them and mostly to help them break up when browning. I browned these and added them to the tomato sauce along with basil and ground fennel and anise seeds. I love a hint of licorice in my tomato sauces, something I learned from "Mama" Lipscomb on Christmas Eve, Paris 1967. Her people were from Naples. All of that was before the noodles were made as the sauce needed to simmer for something like four hours.

Noodles, sauce, ricotta, mozzarella, repeat. Grated parmigiana on top. Damn. The result was spectacular if I say so myself. It was a roasting pan full, so it will serve as dinner on Wednesday at Bill's house when we visit with friends from Los Angeles who are in New Mexico this week.

A nice Montepulciano DOCG to go with it all. And good friends to share it.

I am doing this for multiple reasons: I love cooking but hate doing it for myself so this allows me to cook; I enjoy the satisfaction of doing things from scratch (it feels honest and you know what's in it); this motivates me to clean my kitchen and the downstairs in general and maintain a semi-civilized atmosphere in my digs; and it allows me to do something nice for friends.

So the kitchen, dining room, living room, and entry all got vacuumed today. The kitchen was mopped. I have run the dishwasher twice and it is almost ready to run again. The stovetop was cleaned and the counters all sanitized. I practiced making pie dough (and obviously need more work at that). I harvested peaches from my tree. (Next: a plum tart.) I planned and executed an elaborate meal. Immense feeling of satisfaction tonight.

Amid all this I managed to wash, dry, and hang up a load of shirts; have dinner with friends last night; and attend church this morning.

Tired. Very tired. And dehydrated. But happy.

I hope y'all had a good weekend. Healing vibes to all who need them tonight!

--the BB

The Senate is clearly broken

You may be getting down on the Senate because they couldn't manage to hold a vote Thursday on that jobs bill that Republicans are filibustering. But they did manage to double the penalty for marijuana brownies.
--TPM

I wish somebody could fix it.

--the BB

Planning Sunday dinner

There is no question that I am on a roll when it comes to my new pasta attachment for the Kitchen Aid. Two weeks ago I made noodles for myself and dined on them for days. Last Sunday dinner had thicker egg noodles (the kind I remember Grandma Iva making) with my first ever roasted chicken. I've been shopping after work yesterday and today for Sunday dinner this weekend.

Yep, pasta again. Lasagne from scratch to be made tomorrow, along with the sauce. Sunday morning before church I will bake a peach pie (I have not made pie in something like 40 years). Of course the crust will be from scratch and the peaches from my tree! The harvest begins. Sunday afternoon I will bake the lasagne.

There will be antipasto: olives, salami, giardiniera mix, grissini (breadsticks).

Then lasagne with garlic bread and salad.

Then peach pie a la mode (OK, I bought the Häagen-Dazs).

Sparkling fruit juices from Italy and what I hope will be a nice Italian wine are at the ready.

After all, why spend seven weeks studying Italian if you're not going to have some Italian food? I will probably put Puccini on the CD player too, and some Vivaldi.

Those who read this blog may get the impression that I cook a lot. Lately that has been more true but I have really cooked very little since my ex and I separated. Just can't be bothered cooking for myself. You don't want to know what dinner is most evenings but cheese and crackers is one favorite. Rarely more elaborate than that, though I occasionally microwave taquitos. This shift toward entertaining and cooking more is HUGE. And a good thing as I do love to cook. Inviting folks provides motivation (and once downstairs is uncluttered I entertain several times before I devolve into chaos again).

Yeah, there are chores to be done as well but I am stoked over the weekend. And so glad it is here at last.

Shabbat shalom, y'all!

--the BB

Arrivederci, scuola

Cross-posted from Facebook:

Last Italian class this evening. Sad to see it end. But we did have a party: mini-crostini with salmon pâté, grissini, delicious cannoli from an Italian bakery, Italian sparkling fruit juices, etc.

--the BB

Small stuff

No big news on my end. I cooked Sunday dinner, roasting a chicken for the first time in my life. I have always left that to others. It came out cooked but juicy. Put the dinner guest to work cranking the homemade egg noodles. Three sides of vegetables. A mushroom and cream sauce over the noodles and chicken. Blueberry crisp and ice cream for desert. Not a virtuous meal but a full-on Sunday dinner.

Friday night we plowed through the rain to catch Madama Butterfly at the Santa Fe Opera. Good singing, good acting, good production. It was lovely and very moving. Nice twist at the end. (No change in plot but a wordless twist that I shan't reveal. Very powerful.)

I put on excerpts of Butterfly last night while studying Italian grammar. Tonight we have another quiz and get to see the second half of an Italian film (with Italian subtitles to help us).

Lots of thundershowers lately so the earth is getting rain here in the desert / high grasslands.

This was just so y'all didn't think I'd dropped off the edge of the earth.

Please read Margaret's post this morning. Let us keep the prayers for her and Joel and Juan Manuel going.

Joel was grumpy, grumpy grumpy last night. He also suffered a small panic attack --and he still cannot breathe or speak very well nor swallow at all.... he continues in ICU --although they FINALLY got him out of respiratory ICU and in to neuro ICU which is where he needed to be because myasthenia gravis is a disease that prevents the brain from speaking to the nerves.... and without the nerves the muscles don't work.... and without the nerves and the muscles one does not breathe or swallow or speak....

So, I am hoping that grumpy means improvement.... because,

in truth, as far as speaking and swallowing go --I'm not seeing any improvement at all...

--the BB

Heart thread - 07/24/2010

Amid the many challenges Margaret has been facing, now this:

UPDATE: Joel is in respitory ICU. Nearly lost him overnight.... he is in stable but guarded condition.

I am okay.... numb --which I consider a mercy. Doing what comes next. I am grateful for your prayers.
--m

___________________

Joel is in the hospital. He had an acute onset of his myasthenia gravis... he couldn't breathe, swallow--kept choking.

Please keep him in your prayers.

Margaret posted an update:

Thank you all so very much for you prayers. Joel continues in stable but guarded condition in the ICU. They've brought out the big guns on the MG stuff. He is speaking--which is good. They are doing a scan of his chest later this evening. I'm okay --tired but unanxious... really. All shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well.

For Joel, Margaret, Juan Manuel, and all the burdens Margaret carries on her heart.

Ongoing prayers for Kirstin and her entire support team. (You can follow her posts here.)

The nurse came in, started my IV, and we got talking. We probably talked for twenty minutes. She is an oncology nurse (not all of them on my floor are), has been for seven years. She’s young, and startlingly competent. Right now, she’s looking up my paper chart and printing information about the neuropathy drug they’re discharging me with. (I have the beginnings of peripheral neuropathy, in both hands and feet. It’s scaring hell out of me.)

We talked about my care team here, in Sac, in Oakland. We talked about my support system. I told her some of the things I wrestle with—see how healthy I am, how can I be sick? She told me she thought I’d do well.

I asked her why. She said, “Because you’re so positive. When the mind gives up, the body follows.” I didn’t tell her how much I hate this.

For Jonathan and Jim and David. For Mark and Sandra and Bruce and Doris.

For my sister Shirley.
Shirley will be going in for a angioplasty in a month. Too many ahead of her.

For KJ's father and for David's friend Rosemary.

Prayers for Rosemary too please- she is really having a difficult time, and i`d ask prayers for her husband Dave, their two sons and my sister Jenny, that if this is Rosemary`s time they will all have the grace, love and strength they need.

My coworker Shae says "Thank you" to all who prayed for her; her knee is doing much better.

For Patricia's mother Evelyn Rose.

For Fran who is home and gaining strength and health (but could not join her friends for the Paris trip that had to start without her). She said today was her best day yet but we're not stopping the prayers.

For children everywhere and those who worry about them. For those facing deadlines. For those caught up in anxiety of any sort.

Padre Mickey tells us:

The Lovely Mona is down with sumkinna nasty thang wut makes her sleepy alla time. I hope the sleeping makes her feel better.

For those endangered by the failure of a dam in Iowa.

For the two US service members missing in Afghanistan since yesterday.

For those killed in a stampede in Germany.

For all the burdens carried by any who read this post. Please add your own requests in the comments.

--the BB

Today's letter to the President

Dear Mr. President:

I shall be brief. If you do not appoint Elizabeth Warren to head the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection it will be widely seen as a betrayal of the middle class and likely abandonment of hope for real economic reform.

There is far too much compromise in today's political atmosphere and it is neither buying the good will of the opposition nor the confidence of the electorate.

I urge you to appoint the one person we feel confident will represent the vast majority of the people of the United States. This nation has become a corporatocracy and we need a strong signal that you really mean to do something about it.

Half measures are not enough.

Thank you.

--the BB

Starch?

Yes, Niagara spray starch.

Among the clearance rack shirts I have purchased lately is a white linen shirt, the kind with tabs and buttons to hold your rolled up sleeves in place. I decided I the initial wearing will be Friday when we go to Santa Fe after work for dinner and opera (Madama Butterfly). The noted cool factor of linen (temperature, not with-it-ness) appeals. Alas, it looked a bit rumpled off the rack. So tonight I tackled it with starch and ironed it into submission.

Yes, I know that linen wrinkles as soon as you put it on. That's OK. I just feel as though I am putting on the Ritz and that's all that matters.

I also touched up two other new shirts (spraying only with water) so they are ready to be worn to work.

How many of you remember when your mothers had starch, bluing, and Fels naphtha soap? And your fathers had Lava and Boraxo soaps?

--the BB

Oggi

As I reported earlier this evening on Facebook:

My exciting life. Relentless day at work (one third of us in training, the rest trying to keep up). I was talking on the phone for two minutes short of five hours today. Retail therapy: a couple more summer shirts on clearance. Italian class. Some protein and a strong drink when I got home.

But Friday: Butterfly!


--the BB

Heart thread - 07/20/2010

My friend Mike bids our prayers for Wes. Wes' partner Scott is one of those who worked hard at the Our Saviour clean-up day (and was at San Gabriel last Sunday).

Wes had a stroke this afternoon. He's at UNMH now and doing "okay". It seems to be on the right side affecting the left side of his body with some (unknown to me) level of paralysis. He's alert, can speak though with impaired articulation due to the paralysis, and his memory seems fine. All good signs. Scott doesn't have much more info until more time has passed and more tests are done.

David@Montreal invites us to pray for many who need to be held in our hearts.

Beloved Giants of prayer and practice

I've had two calls this afternoon for prayers for Rosemary, our little Armenian bird, who last Thursday was rushed back into hospital with severe breathing difficulties- one call from Dave, Rosemary's wonderful husband, the other from my baby sister Jenny who is Rosemary's friend and chief caregiver when Dave is obliged to work in Ottawa during most weeks. As you might remember from earlier prayer calls, this is Rosemary's second bout with cancer and her determination to get through this is incredible. Dave and Rosemary have two young sons.
So prayers for Rosemary and Dave please, their sons, and my baby sister Jenny please.

Prayer's for dear Kirstin please- undergoing her second round in the school of cancer also. Kirstin has just begun a very aggressive course of teatments which will be taking over the forseeable future. Last I heard she has been released from hospital from the first round and is currently at Bishop's Ranch in California. [Update: and is now heading back to hospital for the next round.]

Another cherished sister in faith, Fran has been having a really rough time recovering from a gall bladder operation, and has been on a medical fast. Fran, her Beloved, and her step-daughter are due to leave for holidays any day now, and she's still struggling with the first steps towards healing.

Prayers please for my former colleague Louyse who underwent brain surgery late last week. The tumor was only discovered after her throid had been irradiated, and she was experiencing balance, perception and speech defecits. Louyse will have a long path of healing ahead of her.

Prayers please for a fiesty friend who manages a life with some pretty incredible challenges and demands made on her. She is currently travelling overseas for her work, .... Prayer for all involved- for the children, for the pressure and multiple demands my friend tries to balance.

And speaking of fiesty- one beloved sister who might occasionally admit to certain mother bear-like qualities; she, her husband, and their chosen son have been undergoing some horrendous trials in the last days- the system at it's near-worst. This sister is one of the most articulate, passionate, spirit-filled priests I know, so prayers for all three- that grace and strength, insight and peace will be given sufficient to the path ahead and that generous, life-giving justice will prevail.

News of Frank- he and his latest round of cancer appear to be at a standstill. The effects of the ongoing treatments are mild compared to what he as previously been through, and his attitude is incredible. With restrictions, he and Carol are having a simple summer, surrounded by their three wonderful daughters, their spouses & the grandchildren out in BC. He called Mam the other day to see how she is doing with her situation and three times sent along his thanks to 'David's Giants' who have 'made all the difference'

And speaking of Mam, even if she is my Mam, I have to say she's incredible! No complaints, no despair, she's the first one to tell you just how lucky she is that she's still got her arm, that it wasn't her hip, that she's got family to look after her, and that they're doing it so wonderfully. The whole experience has visibly aged her, and yet though there is still occasionally some confusion with individual words, her attitude is always grateful and positive. Mam saw the surgeon late last week, and will begin physiotherapy next Wednesday. She's still unable to live on her own as long as she has the cast, soshe is staying with my sister Joanne and her husband Ken. Today, for the first time since the accident she actually made it to Church with my sister Jenny.

So much to be grateful for, but even more to offer up , and like Frank says you guys really do 'make all the difference.'

love always- always Love

Continued prayers for Doris, Mark, Mother Sandra, Tad (who gets around with greater ease as time passes). For Alex and his mom, for Jack and his family, for my sister Shirley, my nephew Jay, and my grandniece Esther.

For the unemployed, the homeless, and especially the despairing.

For those killed or injured in the train crash in eastern India.

--the BB

Do you see any weeds?

I thought not. (Unless you count the "ornamental grass" on the left, which propagates with a vengeance through small hair-like devices that cling to everything. I call it "pendejo grass" because, well, the filaments resemble pubic hairs. The clump you see in the photo is not destined long for this life. Why people plant this vile thing I have no idea.)

Yours truly was on his knees under the mid-morning sun yesterday pulling weeds between the curb and the sidewalk. Yesterday evening I tackled much of the south side of the house. This morning I did the back yard and more along the side of the house. This evening I finished the south side and returned to the main front yard. Tumbleweeds have sprung up with an especial vengeance this year. Most of them were only half an inch to an inch high but they were uprooted one by one, ripped from the earth with my own hands.

The temperatures were hovering about 100 Fahrenheit and I do not want those who fear for my dehydration to fret. I, who normally never let water pass my lips, have consumed about four liters of it this weekend in addition to my usual wet chemical poison.

There are few muscles in my body who have not had something to say about all this.

But I have photos and the homeowners' association cannot say I did not clean up my weeds.

This weekend also involved visiting with friends on both days, preaching this morning, and catching a performance of A Midsummer Night's Dream this afternoon. I am plum tuckered out.

--the BB