It is the day after Thanksgiving, and that means that everyone is going crazy after the crazy Christmas sales and things. You know, those 4 a.m. sales for those who must get the best deals for the material Christmas presents. Bah Humbug...oh...did I say that? My Christmas wish is for my bills to be paid off. Think of it? Isn't that the best Christmas present with the rising cost of things? So..instead of spending money on "things", think about helping each other out with our ever increasing American debts.
--------------------
I also noticed that the outdoor Christmas decorations are springing up in my neighborhood, so it is time to post my Twinkle-Light Deer Poem once again:
12/16/2005, by S. Weisflock:
Twinkle Light Robotic Deer
In my neighborhood:
Forests of twinkle lighted spiral wire trees grow up over night, competing for space with the living ones.
Twinkle light robotic deer-in-motion amble ever so slowly through the wire tree forests, cautiously looking about.
Twinkle lighted candycane fences built along sidewalk edges, either fence the deer in...or out...I'm not sure which.
Plastic lighted Jesus, Mary, and Joseph are oblivious to the gathering lighted herds, although blow-up giant Santa seems aware as he keeps watch by night.
As the deer move on, the welcoming billowing Snowmen, Sponge Bob, and Packer Football Player bob greetings in the night...only to deflate to silent sheets on the grass by morning.
And are joined in daylight by white wire framed deer and spiral tree sculpture awaiting the magical nightfall to come again with the breath of light.
-------------
For a bit more fun, here's my
Christmas Version of "The Eensy Weensy Spider",
By Susan Weisflock, 11-23-2007
Christmas Spider
The Eensy Weensy Spider climbed on an autumn leaf
Up came the wind and blew it ‘cross the street
Down feel the leaf, it landed on some steps
The Eensy Weensy Spider wondered what to do next.
The Eensy Weensy Spider scampered to the door
Climbed along the wall to the living room floor
It found a corner dark, to spend the afternoon
Until it was whisked out, by a woman with a broom.
The Eensy Weensy Spider landed in the snow
Eight cold wet feet, it shivered from the cold
Back into the house, it must go or it would die
Through a window sill it sneaked, and there it caught a fly.
The Eensy Weensy Spider climbed up the Christmas tree
There it remained, spinning webs with glee
The webs shown red and green, as the lights twinkled off and on
The Eensy WeEensy Spider remained there til dawn.
The Eensy WeEensy Spider heard Santa on the lawn
He burst in the room, …singing Christmas songs
Spider quickly spun a stocking out of web
The Santa left a flea, that was biting Rudolf’s head.
The Eensy Weensy spider climbed up Santa’s snout
Out came a sneeze and blew the spider out
Down on the sled, the spider scampered round
Until the Wensy spider climbed up on Rudolf’s crown.
The Eensy Weensy spider rode high on Rudolf’s crown.
From high up on his head, it could see all around town.
The sled sped on and on, Rudolf’s nose twinkled bright.
Merry Christmas to All, and to all a Good Night!
Friday, November 23, 2007
Saturday, November 03, 2007
Tapestry of Fun - White Corn Harvest, Oneida Nation
In early October, I went to the White Corn Harvest by the Oneida's, a several day hand-harvesting of the heirloom corn that has sustained their people. Its an important tradition, and the first day includes lots of work, and then a feast of White Corn Soup. The corn is hand-picked, hand-husked, hand-sorted, hand-braided, and then hung up to dry in a barn. It is an awesome experience for us "modern" folks.... For me, it gave me new respect for what ALL of our ancestors did to survive the winter -- before mechanization made farming far less labor intensive. It also helped me gain more understanding of one Wisconsin woodland tribe.
Tapestry of Fun from Summer - June
UU Fellowship - Hike - Point Beach State Park
A beautiful Sunday in June....we went hiking along the trail and then along the Lake Michigan beach. I and friends decided to camp, and on Sunday night we hosted a campfire with sing-along and sharing!
So Busy...So Busy
Everyday has been filled with lots of activity, an adventure in living. I'm teaching my Fall college courses, I'm working one day a week doing itinerant school psychology, I'm having fun whenever I can, and I'm getting training on deafblind intervener - which means a trip to Minneapolis once a month!
The biggest news, as far as I'm concerned, is that I've started doing my music again! I've created a duo: TRAVOIS! and even purchased a PA system, another guitar, numerous rhythm instruments, a djumbe drum....etc. My son, Try, also has shown me some thing about setting up a home recording studio, and so that is my next "big step". Try helped me record one song, using his equipment, to show me the hardware and procedures I'll need to have/do. I'm very excited about that...now to just fit it into the old schedule! So......I've also started maintaining another BLOG for my music...and thus this one has been a bit neglected. http://www.travois.blogspot.com/ has information on TRAVOIS! performance schedule, as well as news on things that we've already done. So, visit it to see "the rest of the story".......
The exciting Birthday news is that I'm headed to Madison, WI, for a Sunday night house concert to reconnect with my Black Hills Folk Musician friends Steve Thorpe, and Andrea Potts....not sure who else will be there. We'll be going out to the Black Hills over Thanksgiving, and I'll be playing out there in Lead on Friday, Nov. 23rd....WEATHER PERMITTING!!!!
So....that's the news. I had a "magical" summer....that has brought my life back into vibrant living. Nothing like starting out the summer catching that huge salmon...and then finishing it up with moving my music to a new level!!
~S
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
44 lbs of fish
Okay, so what does 44 lbs of fish fillets from my charter fishing trip look like?
3 bags full
!!
!!
Fishing Trip
About a month ago, my husband decided to finally give me the fishing trip he had promised years ago. The promise was made to me in regards to finishing my doctorate, a promise made back in March 2002. John had "tossed the bait" so to speak by telling me he'd give me a chartered fishing trip (in Canada), if I'd only finish up my dissertation.
Well, that really was all it took, and by the end of March that year, the completed document rough draft was submitted to my committee chair. Long ago history, I had my Ph.D. in hand by September of 2002.
The Fishing Trip? Well......it was postponed and postponed and postponed.....and then we moved to Wisconsin.
Last summer, John and I wandered the dock next to the M&M Restaurant in Two Rivers and picked up some brochures from the various charter fishing businesses. The 2006 summer passed by (I had a summer cold that just would not let me be). In May of this year, John decided he better "pay up" on his promise, so he made arrangements to take me charter fishing on Lake Michigan...asking me if that would fulfill the Canada trip promise. I was game. I'd really wanted to fish on the "big lake", and so we made a charter fishing reservation for the second week of June.
Of course the weather had to mess with the plans, so the trip was postponed twice. We finally made it out for an early morning fishing trip on June 21st - Summer Solstice!!!
Early morning meant getting up by 3:30 a.m. to be at the dock by 4:30 a.m. The Bald Beaver Charter was ready to go, and off we went to fish about 5 miles out on Lake Michigan, pretty much parallel to where our house is in the town. The fish were biting fast and furious, and certainly by 4:45 a.m. I had my first BIG fish on the line. Within just a few minutes of that, as second fish hit the lure, and John, too, was reeling in a King Salmon.
The ironic thing...or first timer's luck?....was that the first fish for me was the biggest fish I've ever caught, and maybe will ever catch! As I was working to bring the thing in, it seemed that for every 5 inches of line reeled in, a good 100 feet went zinging out. The fish fought. The fish was a struggle to make progress with. Scott (the charter skipper) said to me, "Soozee, you are going to be working on bringing this fish in for quite a while. Its a big one."
Since it was my "first", I was unsure that what he said was true. I thought he was just jollying me along, as the work in reeling in the fish was extremely tiring. My arms got very tired, and I wasn't sure I'd have the last ounce of strength to do what it takes to land a lake fish. However......I am not willing to admit that I can't do it. Its a "strong woman thing" for me. So....I grinned and bared it, and was rewarded with a 22 lb, 36 inch long, King Salmon. It is/was an AMAZING fish.
The fishing action continued to be decent and we had caught our limit by 7:30 a.m. Fact is, we were back at the dock. Pictures were taken, the fish were cleaned, filleted, and bagged, and by 8 a.m. I was back at my home, wondering what the heck I was going to do with 44 lbs of Salmon, plus the 22 lb trophy fish.
Oh, did I mention that when I got on the boat at 4:30 a.m., I announced that I didn't believe in the taxidermy thing. Well..obviously I had a change of heart.
Friday, May 25, 2007
Plastic woes and global issues
In my ongoing readings on global pollution and global warming issues, I stumbled upon articles about plastic pollution. Plastic grocery bags are gradually being banned, due to their nuisance as a trash issue, safety issue for wild life, and pollution issue. The information that was and is most startling to me is the plastic pollution of our oceans. http://www.plasticdebris.org/about.html, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Pacific_Gyre, http://www.mindfully.org/Plastic/Moore-North-Pacific-Central-Gyre.htm, http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/01/06/eveningnews/main591770.shtml,
http://www.pbs.org/odyssey/odyssey/20050428_log_transcript.html.
If you take a look at any of these links, you'll become very disheartened...more than likely....about our short-sightedness in regards to all the "stuff" that we seem to be producing out of plastic, and then throwing away....our throw away mentality. Somehow we've lost sight of the fact that plastic is a "forever" kind of material, that does not biodegrade. It also has a habit of picking up other toxins, leaching its own toxins into foods and things contained in it or cooked in it.
After I stumbled on the pacific gyre plastic pollution article, I took a look around one room in my house and counted the plastic stuff. Since I'm an "old geezer", I then tried to think back to my youth...in the 1950's and early 1960's....and what stuff was made of back then when plastic was relatively new and limited in its use. I'm rather alarmed.
If you take a look at your own surroundings, I think you, too, will find that somehow we've become plastic junkies. Wood products are coated with plastic film, the cans that food is processed in have plastic coated insides, liquids come in plastic bottles, plants grow in plastic pots, tv's are incased with plastic, junk mail comes wrapped in plastic, things bought in the store are packaged in hard plastic containers, leftover food is stored in plastic containers, tv dinners are now in plastic dishes that we microwave or bake...... Heck, we have plastic molecules circulating in our blood...at least that is what the researchers are finding. Fish in the waterways confuse bits of plastic for natural food. ETC. ETC.
I appreciate the fact that San Fancisco is banning plastic grocery bags. Can we do it nationally! Please? I mean, what is the deal that we have to use petroleum for our bags, packaging, everyday items, etc.? No wonder the price of oil is so expensive...we are consuming it for far more things than just putting gas into a vehicle.
So...that is my blog for today. I'm trying to de-plastic my life. I started today by picking up a second hand glass mixing bowl to replace a plastic one. The plastic cups will go soon, also. Of course, my worry is where they will go?
S~
http://www.pbs.org/odyssey/odyssey/20050428_log_transcript.html.
If you take a look at any of these links, you'll become very disheartened...more than likely....about our short-sightedness in regards to all the "stuff" that we seem to be producing out of plastic, and then throwing away....our throw away mentality. Somehow we've lost sight of the fact that plastic is a "forever" kind of material, that does not biodegrade. It also has a habit of picking up other toxins, leaching its own toxins into foods and things contained in it or cooked in it.
After I stumbled on the pacific gyre plastic pollution article, I took a look around one room in my house and counted the plastic stuff. Since I'm an "old geezer", I then tried to think back to my youth...in the 1950's and early 1960's....and what stuff was made of back then when plastic was relatively new and limited in its use. I'm rather alarmed.
If you take a look at your own surroundings, I think you, too, will find that somehow we've become plastic junkies. Wood products are coated with plastic film, the cans that food is processed in have plastic coated insides, liquids come in plastic bottles, plants grow in plastic pots, tv's are incased with plastic, junk mail comes wrapped in plastic, things bought in the store are packaged in hard plastic containers, leftover food is stored in plastic containers, tv dinners are now in plastic dishes that we microwave or bake...... Heck, we have plastic molecules circulating in our blood...at least that is what the researchers are finding. Fish in the waterways confuse bits of plastic for natural food. ETC. ETC.
I appreciate the fact that San Fancisco is banning plastic grocery bags. Can we do it nationally! Please? I mean, what is the deal that we have to use petroleum for our bags, packaging, everyday items, etc.? No wonder the price of oil is so expensive...we are consuming it for far more things than just putting gas into a vehicle.
So...that is my blog for today. I'm trying to de-plastic my life. I started today by picking up a second hand glass mixing bowl to replace a plastic one. The plastic cups will go soon, also. Of course, my worry is where they will go?
S~
Tuesday, April 03, 2007
Global Warming Worries and Perseverances
Have you ever thought about the following?
Today's kindergartener will be 19 in the year 2020, 29 in the year 2030, 39 in the year 2040, and 49 in the year 2050.
This year's typically graduating college student (using 23 years old as the age) will be 36 in 2020, 46 in 2030, 56 in 2040, 66 in 2050.
For me? I'll be 67 in 2020, 77 in 2030, 87 in 2040....God willing.
So...whose life is in peril from the outcomes/projections of global warming models? The children, youth, and young adults of today. Its a problem that has potential to rest the survival of our species on their and their children's shoulders.
On this past Sunday....April 1, 2007....after reading the preliminary news story about the soon to be released UN assessment report on global warming 2007 updates....I was driving to a nearby city on the local interstate. Watching southbound traffic, I noted that 1 of 3 vehicles heading south was a car. The other 3? SUV's or giant pickup trucks. This is in a region where neither of these vehicles is an essential transportation item for probably 99% of the urban/suburban population. My heart sank as I started thinking..."hmmmm, wonder if anyone has done a calculation on the carbon emissions versus years of life for our children. Like...if I drive my SUV everyday in everyway everywhere...how many years do I decrease the survival of my children? grandchildren? etc. The same, of course, applies to ALL of our USA energy hogging behaviors, our consumption of energy hogging foods and necessities, and so forth.
Reading the preliminary news story....I started wondering if our children and young adults of today have the skills and physical abilities to live on a planet in chaotic climatic change, to live as refugees when environmental events (hurricanes, tornados, flooding, drought,....etc) uproot entire populations of cities, regions, countries? What does it exactly mean to us in preparing people for the future? What is it we need to know to live?
How do we turn around our USA society to creating local village/town communities where the goods, foods, and services we need are within walking distances? How do we gladly embrace alternate energy sources - wind, solar? How do we put away SUV's, Large Pickups, Oil dependency? How do we build mass transit in places without it? How do we ....(you finish the question)?
I thought of one creative use of SUV's. Since homeless folks tend to live in shelters made of cardboard and other scavenged materials, how about making SUV homeless living shelters. Remove the tires, set the vehicles in a circle, place a warming fire in the center (just like old wagon train groupings), and voila....a better homeless community. Add a few batteries and the homeless have lights, music/radio, maybe even TV with the new fangled equipped vehicles. I wonder if this could be a tax write-off?
My plea is that we all take a look at our lives, consumptions, vehicles. If you are relying on an SUV or pickup truck for your regular transportation, and especially if it is JUST YOU riding in that vehicle - STOP IT! Park it! Start with yourself. I know that the $3 a gallon gas not that long ago had you thinking about it.
I know there is a movement for more energy/fuel economy for LARGE vehicles - like SUV's, trucks, etc. How about if we just get a grip and realize that the time for those as "everybody's vehicle" is over. It was a ridiculous marketing idea in the first place and a ludicrous choice today.
Your vehicle choice and driving habits may be where you can start. I don't know. What I do know is that we've all got to change, and change NOW!
Melbourne Austrailia inacted a 1-hour of light's out event to make a point, and plans to continue it. Other cities have established events limiting car/vehicle travel - walk, bike or public transit to work days. I say, DO IT! Encourage grassroots action. We've got to do something!
Today's kindergartener will be 19 in the year 2020, 29 in the year 2030, 39 in the year 2040, and 49 in the year 2050.
This year's typically graduating college student (using 23 years old as the age) will be 36 in 2020, 46 in 2030, 56 in 2040, 66 in 2050.
For me? I'll be 67 in 2020, 77 in 2030, 87 in 2040....God willing.
So...whose life is in peril from the outcomes/projections of global warming models? The children, youth, and young adults of today. Its a problem that has potential to rest the survival of our species on their and their children's shoulders.
On this past Sunday....April 1, 2007....after reading the preliminary news story about the soon to be released UN assessment report on global warming 2007 updates....I was driving to a nearby city on the local interstate. Watching southbound traffic, I noted that 1 of 3 vehicles heading south was a car. The other 3? SUV's or giant pickup trucks. This is in a region where neither of these vehicles is an essential transportation item for probably 99% of the urban/suburban population. My heart sank as I started thinking..."hmmmm, wonder if anyone has done a calculation on the carbon emissions versus years of life for our children. Like...if I drive my SUV everyday in everyway everywhere...how many years do I decrease the survival of my children? grandchildren? etc. The same, of course, applies to ALL of our USA energy hogging behaviors, our consumption of energy hogging foods and necessities, and so forth.
Reading the preliminary news story....I started wondering if our children and young adults of today have the skills and physical abilities to live on a planet in chaotic climatic change, to live as refugees when environmental events (hurricanes, tornados, flooding, drought,....etc) uproot entire populations of cities, regions, countries? What does it exactly mean to us in preparing people for the future? What is it we need to know to live?
How do we turn around our USA society to creating local village/town communities where the goods, foods, and services we need are within walking distances? How do we gladly embrace alternate energy sources - wind, solar? How do we put away SUV's, Large Pickups, Oil dependency? How do we build mass transit in places without it? How do we ....(you finish the question)?
I thought of one creative use of SUV's. Since homeless folks tend to live in shelters made of cardboard and other scavenged materials, how about making SUV homeless living shelters. Remove the tires, set the vehicles in a circle, place a warming fire in the center (just like old wagon train groupings), and voila....a better homeless community. Add a few batteries and the homeless have lights, music/radio, maybe even TV with the new fangled equipped vehicles. I wonder if this could be a tax write-off?
My plea is that we all take a look at our lives, consumptions, vehicles. If you are relying on an SUV or pickup truck for your regular transportation, and especially if it is JUST YOU riding in that vehicle - STOP IT! Park it! Start with yourself. I know that the $3 a gallon gas not that long ago had you thinking about it.
I know there is a movement for more energy/fuel economy for LARGE vehicles - like SUV's, trucks, etc. How about if we just get a grip and realize that the time for those as "everybody's vehicle" is over. It was a ridiculous marketing idea in the first place and a ludicrous choice today.
Your vehicle choice and driving habits may be where you can start. I don't know. What I do know is that we've all got to change, and change NOW!
Melbourne Austrailia inacted a 1-hour of light's out event to make a point, and plans to continue it. Other cities have established events limiting car/vehicle travel - walk, bike or public transit to work days. I say, DO IT! Encourage grassroots action. We've got to do something!
Molly - grown
The puppy of August is now a DOG! She is a darling, my joy! I actually changed her name to Molly Montana, however, she's just Molly. I tend to make little songs about her...driving my husband nuts when I get into singing to her. My favorite verse is:
I've got a dog, her name is Molly
Oh Molly Molly Mo
She's all black and very jolly
Oh Molly Molly Mo.
Oh Molly Molly Molly
Oh Molly Molly Mo
Oh Molly Molly Molly
Oh Molly Molly Mo
I've got a dog, her name is Molly
Oh Molly Molly Mo
She's all black and very jolly
Oh Molly Molly Mo.
Oh Molly Molly Molly
Oh Molly Molly Mo
Oh Molly Molly Molly
Oh Molly Molly Mo
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