I think these candle holders are a great example of Swedish handcraft (hemslojd). The pair was a gift from my cousin's son, Thomas, when he visited us in Los Angeles in 1992. It was a bittersweet visit for us as his dad, whom I was close to, had recently died in an accident. Thomas came to visit soon after the Los Angeles riots that passed by our neighborhood. Rioters burned down businesses on La Brea, the commercial street about four blocks away, on their way to Hollywood. These were the riots that affected the entire city and caught fire after the Rodney King trials. Of course we toured the wreckage and, coming from peaceful Sweden, this must have been a sight. We later took Thomas and his girlfriend down to Mexico where we spent a lot of time in those days. The extreme poverty in Tijuana, cardboard homes and children begging in the streets, deeply affected them both. The girlfriend cried, I remember. I felt bad for taking them there, and remembered how shocked I was when I first saw Tijuana many years earlier, and wondered if I had just gotten used to it. But at least Thomas and his girlfriend got to see the great Pacific Ocean, Venice Beach and Hollywood. They probably returned to Sweden with some mixed emotions though. Thomas recently became a follower of my blog and I want to welcome him. Thomas, if you read this, please leave a comment every now and then. And as you can see, your two Swedish candle holders are still very much a part of our lives here. And they fit just as well in this house as they did in Los Angeles. Sending love and hugs to you and your family.
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Tuesday's Treasures & Things
I think these candle holders are a great example of Swedish handcraft (hemslojd). The pair was a gift from my cousin's son, Thomas, when he visited us in Los Angeles in 1992. It was a bittersweet visit for us as his dad, whom I was close to, had recently died in an accident. Thomas came to visit soon after the Los Angeles riots that passed by our neighborhood. Rioters burned down businesses on La Brea, the commercial street about four blocks away, on their way to Hollywood. These were the riots that affected the entire city and caught fire after the Rodney King trials. Of course we toured the wreckage and, coming from peaceful Sweden, this must have been a sight. We later took Thomas and his girlfriend down to Mexico where we spent a lot of time in those days. The extreme poverty in Tijuana, cardboard homes and children begging in the streets, deeply affected them both. The girlfriend cried, I remember. I felt bad for taking them there, and remembered how shocked I was when I first saw Tijuana many years earlier, and wondered if I had just gotten used to it. But at least Thomas and his girlfriend got to see the great Pacific Ocean, Venice Beach and Hollywood. They probably returned to Sweden with some mixed emotions though. Thomas recently became a follower of my blog and I want to welcome him. Thomas, if you read this, please leave a comment every now and then. And as you can see, your two Swedish candle holders are still very much a part of our lives here. And they fit just as well in this house as they did in Los Angeles. Sending love and hugs to you and your family.
Monday, January 30, 2012
Your Comments, Google Reader (?), Native American Wisdom, Ms. Vining and the Crown Prince of Japan.
Samson's got the Monday morning blues because daddy left for Los Angeles this morning. I, on the other hand, am happy because I believe I may get a few things done around here. Am I the only one who gets more stuff done when hubby is away? Of course, I know something that Samson doesn't: Daddy will be back this evening. Before he got sad, Samson told me how happy he was with all the nice comments left on his recent post. He is especially happy to know that you all find him handsome.
It was great for me too, of course, to read all your recent comments. I don't go back and forth responding to comments as some of you do. There just isn't enough time in my day now since my aforementioned husband recently retired. A laptop would make this easier, but I don't have one. This doesn't mean I don't love to read your comments and appreciate the time you take to leave them. And I do like to read comments on blogs where conversations are initiated. It can be very interesting and a good way to get to know your blogger friends. My blogger friend Jim at Ocean Breezes mentioned that we can now use some feature to answer comments immediately. I am so behind on all the new things, I only recently discovered Google Reader. I really like it, but I don't see any way to comment in the Reader. So what do you do? Go back to Dashboard?
My replies to your comments: I am glad you enjoyed yesterday's photo. I love it when the clouds are low on the mountain like that.
Lindsjo Taxar: My dogs like to sleep late too, as does my husband. Not me.
turqoisemoon, Chatty Crone, Pearl and Bengt: Thanks for visiting and commenting on my blog. It's always fun to meet new bloggers here.
Leovi: I was particularly thrilled by your comment. For those of you who don't know, Leovi is a fabulous photographer and if you haven't visited her blog yet, you should, it's amazing.
I'm happy that you liked the quote and how fun that it reminded Dee of my most favorite quote, which I have in my sidebar between the pictures of my pets and the wild critters. At least I think that's the one Dee was reminded of.
I will repost it here, it is so worth while:
"Treat the Earth well:
it was not given to you by your parents,
it was loaned to you by your children.
We do not inherit the Earth from our ancestors,
we borrow it from our children."
~ Native American Proverb
I got yesterday's quote from a copy of the cover of Elizabeth Gray Vining's book: Being Seventy, The Measure of a Year.I came upon this copy in a file I have, called Writers. So it pays off in different ways to go through and purge your files.
Back to the author: Ms. Vining lead an interesting life. In her best known book, Windows for the Crown Prince, she wrote about her time in Japan, where she tutored the then Crown Prince Akihito.
The author with Crown Prince Akihito ~ from amazon.com
I was probably in my 50s when I read Being Seventy, perhaps it would be fun to read it again now, that I am that age, seventyish. Sunday, January 29, 2012
Sunday Morning Reflections
Life is a trust,
given into our hands,
to hold carefully,
to use well, to enjoy,
to give back when
the time comes....
~ Elizabeth Gray Vining
Friday, January 27, 2012
A Cold and Windy Canyon Morning
On a cold and wintry morning, I got up early as I always do. Tried to write a blog post after breakfast, but didn't feel inspired so instead I read a few blogs and left comments.
Outside, the sun tried to break through the clouds with little success and the wind was howling. Early. The wind here usually comes up around ten in the morning, but yesterday it started around seven. Not a good sign.
I got Soldier ready with his raggedly leash and followed hubby and the other dogs out for our walk. Soldier came cantering through the dog yard when he saw me come, so excited to go for his walk. And how he walks. His recovery is remarkable. He is now able to stretch out his hind legs, where before he could only sort of hop along. You can see the good stretch in the picture here. Soldier, Angel and I walked for over an hour.
My husband always takes Samson for another half an hour or so, since he is the young one and needs to get exercised. I really felt that more than an hour for Soldier and me was fantastic and I've sort of gotten used to Angel's old age feats. She is just remarkable and I'm so happy she's having such a good old age.
After I got back, it was time for some morning chores. First I had to run around after some recycle stuff that was not secure in the trash cans as the lids had blown off. Some cans and bottles managed to blow all the way to the bottom of the yard, down by our field. After that, I cleaned the dog yard and filled the water bowl.
Most of the laundry that had been on the line all night was dry. Remarkable, since it was still early and very cold. That's what a good wind does up here. We don't have an electric dryer and I really don't feel a need for one. It's amazing how much I am enjoying this sort of primitive life here in the canyon.
I brought the dry laundry in the house and folded it. Then my husband made a fire to warm up the place. We have two really good heaters now, but a fire is nice and it has been so warm this winter that we haven't used the fireplace much.
We heated up some of last summer's vegetable soup for lunch. It's so good this soup my husband made last summer with veggies from our garden and some more from the store added. Hot and spicy and just right on a cold winter's day.
And in the afternoon I worked on cleaning out my files and purging. I actually finished the job and reduced stuff in the two-drawer filing cabinet by about a third. I so wish I could have done better. I feel like I'm drowning in papers and stuff and wish I could just burn it all. But at least part one of my purging project is done. Now I move on to the next step. More about that some other time.
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Samson's Nose Goes Meandering
Samson Says: OK, mommy, I saw that fish or duck or person say something that I think was an apology for taking up my blog space. Why wasn't it in English? What kind of language was that?
Mommy: It was Latin, Samson, mea culpa means that it was her mistake, she didn't mean it, and she is sorry. Samson: What's Latin?
Mommy: It's a very old language, some may even call it dead.
Samson: Are you telling me I get my apologies in a dead language?!! From a fish or a duck or a ........... Notice I don't call her an old lady, even though I think that's what she must be, speaking in a dead language and all.
Mommy: Samson, you are supposed to just accept apologies. And Fishducky is a very nice lady who has a blog of her own now, so she won't be posting on ours. See everything works out in the end.
Samson: OK, OK, Fishducky, I accept your mea culpa sorry. And wish you good luck with you blog. Can I tell everyone about my meandering nose now?
Mommy: I thought it was your mind you were going to tell us about.
Samson: A dog's mind is in his nose. Goes to show how much you know.
Samson Says: Here's how and where my nose meanders, each and every day:
First I wake up and have to go and pee. Angel goes with me, so it's only natural that my nose meanders to where she just went. After that my nose gets such a strong urge to meander to her rear end, well, you know what I mean.
Mommy: I'm not sure I like where this is going.
Samson: OK, but then I smell my breakfast biscuits. I know some dogs get all their food in the morning, but we get it in the afternoon. A leftover habit from when everyone had to rush off to work in the morning. My nose is very attracted to these biscuits. After I'm done with mine, my nose meanders over to the place where Angel had hers; she always leaves a few crumbs behind. Then my nose takes a rest. If we don't go for a walk, it becomes bored, bored, and more bored.
When we go for a walk, my meandering nose gets very busy. Did you know that a dog gets all the news from his morning walk? Angel calls it reading the news on the ground and she takes a very long time doing it.
Me, I go from news to news. Yesterday, there was an article about a bird that bit the dust. That means it got killed. And eaten. Only a few feathers and some down was left. Then coyotes and rabbits had walked all around in the night. They left calling cards. Rabbits leave many calling cards, very tiny ones. Coyote cards are more like those us dogs leave behind.
Every time Angel is finished with an article, she pees on it. I do the same. Angel is kind of like my mommy, my dog mommy. I learn everything I know from her, except sit, stay, come, and all the stuff my person mommy taught me.
Sometimes I catch a scent in the air. Then my nose comes up and my eyes and ears go to work, like here. I smelled something, but mommy wouldn't let me investigate. It was muddy on the land because of the rain.
After we're done walking, we stay either in the house or the dog yard. I prefer the house. After we play, my nose always meanders into Angel's ear. That's something I've done since I was a puppy. I don't know why.
In the afternoon all our dog noses meander toward the kitchen, looking for our dinner. After dinner it's back outside to do our business. But then my meandering nose goes to doggie heaven. Daddy is cooking and all these wonderful smells touch my nose and it stops its meandering ways and stays very still.
So that's pretty much it. My nose meanders from one thing to the next, all day long. Without it, my life wouldn't be much fun, I don't think.
Have nice day everyone!
Posted by Samson, the Samoyed pup.
Monday, January 23, 2012
Fishducky's New Blog, Nancy's Blog, and Other Good Things
Does your world seem a little drab and boring sometimes? Do you feel in need of one of those deep, old-fashioned, belly laughs? I have just the thing for you: A brand new blog, a Fishducky blog, started by Melynda of Crazy World. It's called http://allaboutfishducky.blogspot.com and will feature the deep riches of humor contained in Fishducky's brain. Fishducky has lived a rich and varied life, she is brilliant, she is kind, she is hilarious and the stories from her life are priceless. I read the first post yesterday and laughed so hard that my stomach ached. The second post is there today and since I'm writing this, I haven't read it yet. Whenever you feel in need of a deep old laugh, go visit.
celebrating 14 years online 1998-2012 | |||||||||||
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Anyway, after being so upset about the presidential candidates, I decided that some humor would be in order. So I went there and clicked on Politics in their index and found a whole lot of funny quotes. I decided to pick this one for today, there may be more to come later:
The best thing about this group of candidates is that only one of them can win. ~Will Rogers
Nancy also suggested I should have Samson post for the rest of the week. Needless to say, he was delighted (if you don't know, Samson is one of our dogs, see above, and the only one who blogs). He has a long blog ready to go for tomorrow. And I'm sure there will be more once he finds out that fishducky, his nemesis in the blogger world (he's just jealous of all the attention she's getting), now has her own blog! Something he has aspired to for a very long time.
About Google: Have you noticed that now when you have to enter a word verification word, Google is attempting to correct the spelling?!! In word verification?!! Hello! I find this very annoying! (Hence the many exclamation points!)
Other than that, it is raining like crazy here in the canyon. I'm thrilled, except for the fact that I forgot to bring in the laundry I hung on the line yesterday. Nothing much to do about that now. It will get rinsed good by mother nature, that's for sure.
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Rain in the Canyon, Finally!
Ah, patience, the one virtue I still have not conquered. If that is what one does with virtues, and I actually have no idea what the other virtues are right now. All I know is that after years, many years, of spiritual study, I thought that I no longer would get as angry as I did about what happened here in the canyon and also about the way Newt Gingrich spoke to Juan Williams, a black man who works for the most conservative TV station in the US.
I would like to explain my statement on yesterday's post. Why I sort of lost it. I was not that upset about Newt's janitor comments, where he suggested that in poor, i.e., black neighborhoods, the kids should learn the value of work by cleaning the schools, after all the regular janitors, except one or two, were fired. So the mostly poor working grownups would be fired so that kids could learn the value of work! That was just so...... No, I got angry about the way he talked down to that conservative black man. Because I saw the pain. On that conservative black man's face. And I don't care for Juan Williams, but I do care for his pain. I really don't want any politics in my blog. But I just couldn't help myself, so I spoke out.
Enough of that! Thanks for your comments and concern. I lived here alone for five years while my husband worked in Los Angeles and I was never once afraid. Thanks to my German shepherd, my German shepherd mix, and my other dogs. Now my husband is here with me and that's just so great.
Samson says: So can I get a word in edgewise here or has my blog been overtaken by a fish, a duck, or another old lady? I mean I never heard of a fish to be 73!!
Since I'm also waiting for some information from this Great Horned owl that I'm supposed to interview for a post here, maybe by next week this blog will be full of opinionated critters and their meandering minds.
Finally, I want to extend a welcome to my new followers. I had planned to visit and start to follow your blogs this morning. If I don't, it's because this rain came with a horrific windstorm that may slow down my satellite. I'm dependent on a satellite dish for my internet connection and it must be twisting in the wind because my computer is doing some weird things as I write this. I will see you soon, for sure.
Friday, January 20, 2012
My Rambling Thoughts and Rachael's Comments on the Deaths in the Canyon
Rachael included a box of Good Earth tea in the Christmas gift basked she gave us. Each tea bag comes with a quote on the little piece of paper that's attached to the string. I always read them and the one this morning said this:
Advertising may be described as the science of arresting the human intelligence long enough to get money from it.
Unknown
How true, I thought. Then my thoughts started to wander across time, to the 1980s when there was a Good Earth restaurant in Westwood. I used have lunch there often with my friends, who worked with me at UCLA. Then I started to think about those friends, so many of them gone now, victims of AIDs in the early days when little was known about the disease. I remembered my friend Tony, who was also my boss for a time when I helped him straighten out a big mess in his payroll department.
Then I remembered how one evening, Tony and I walked on the boulevard in Westwood and ran into Sidney Poitier with his wife and family. And how Mr. Poitier gave Tony a big smile and said hello, didn't even give me a second look, and leaving me sort of green with envy.
Then I thought of race in America and how very angry I have been since the GOP presidential campaign landed in South Carolina. For the first time since I arrived here in 1962, did I fear for this country when I heard the audience in that debate agree with this blatantly racist candidate who is running for president of the United States. I won't go into details here, either you heard or you didn't. Either you agree with me or you don't.
When I got angry, I started to think about my heart rate and BP. Which made me think about the meeting of the Diabetes Support group that I attended yesterday. The meeting was about food. I learned that the food pyramid has now been replaced by a food plate, divided into four sections, with instructions for how much of the four food groups (fruits, vegetables, meat/fish/nuts, and grains) one should eat every day. And a round circle for some low-fat dairy.
That was about it for my thoughts. Then I came in here and found a comment from Rachael on my post about the deaths in the canyon. Rachael and I met when we both worked at the donkey rescue and she lived in a cabin at the rescue.
Orion, the Great Horned Owl, pictured here with Rachael, has agreed to be interviewed by me for this blog. I hope to interview him and post the interview sometime next week.
Rachael has, as she mentions in her comment, worked with a wide variety of animals and knows them and understands them well. I know you wouldn't go back and read comments, so I am publishing it here as well:
I concur with the other opinions that it is far more likely that the donkeys were killed by a person. Having spent a lot of time working around a huge variety of animals -- including: bobcats, mountain lions, bears AND donkeys -- I find it really hard to believe that a bear or cat took out 3 donkeys, unless they were picked off one at a time and they were really old and sick (or young), like you stated. IF any animal brought about their demise, I would think a pack of coyotes would be the biggest suspect. Even then, it would take extraordinary circumstances for coyotes to take on donkeys -- the donkeys would have to be half-dead first. Donkeys are some of the most agile and protective animals out there. They are pack animals that stand up for each other. Now, on the other hand: that canyon has had a reputation over the years of mysterious deaths (by people). I've never heard of anyone getting caught for the suspicious deaths, so please be extra careful! You have 3 wonderful protectors with you that will scare off most predators - including the 2-legged kind -- thank God! I pray for your safety and ask the angels to protect you and yours:)
My husband and I saw this foal being born. A circle of jennys (female donkeys) surrounded the mother during the birth. If it had taken place in the wild, they would have defended her. The donkey to the left was a constant companion as the little foal grew up.
Thank you, Rachael. I know of only one other murder in the canyon. When we first moved here, another murder occurred. It was a snitch, just released from prison, who moved in with his girlfriend up somewhere above us in the canyon. Years later, what remained of his bones were found not far from our north-eastern property line. I don't mean to scare you, we do have a very long, long road to our house and only one way out. So it's difficult to get here and to get away. As long as we have Angel and Soldier, we have guards and protection. However, our young dog, Samson, the Samoyed, oh well, he barks after the others start, but doesn't initiate any guarding or barking on his own. Not the breed for it, I'm afraid.
Isn't it interesting how your thoughts will take you places and most of the time you have no idea where they took you or why?
Thursday, January 19, 2012
More Fishducky Funnies
OK, so I published this one by mistake. It wasn't quite done yet. There was a picture of the VW bus, but it was so small, I was going to ask Fran to send it as an .jpg attachment in email. Oh, well. Here is one of Fishducky's funny stories that I thought would be a nice antidote after yesterday's post.
But first: Thank you for your concerned comments regarding that post. I have to assure you that I have never been afraid here, now I am concerned. I just want to know what's going on, so more a concern about the unknown. And, of course, I do listen to my dogs. Angel and Bandit saved me from an intruder who jumped our seven-foot fence in Los Angeles at a time I didn't have a lock on my back door. I said to the guy from my bathroom window, "if you don't leave, I'll let my four dogs loose on you," (I only had two, but they sounded like four) and I never saw someone climb back over a tall fence that fast. I do have some dog stories to tell, but now I should give the word to my friend Fishducky:
MEANDERINGS ABOUT MOTORING
I love to drive! My first Mustang, which I think was a ’69, was the first car I had which my husband hadn’t driven for years prior to my driving it. It was also the first car I had which (deliberately) could not hold a troop of Boy or Girl Scouts. The government had a ban on manufacturing convertibles at that time because of safety concerns. There were, however, no laws about making your own convertibles. We had the car decapitated & a convertible top put on! Once I was driving about 4:00am on a virtually deserted freeway when I glanced at my speedometer. I was going 105! I reluctantly slowed down.
Here's a picture of our 1970 Mustang. We got it from my friend Lin, who once raced Steve McQueen down a Hollywood street in this very car. And lived to tell the tale. I can attest to the fun of driving these old Mustangs with their powerful engines. Fishducky: Hope this makes up for my clicking Publish too soon. Can you, BTW cancel a post if you post it by mistake? I have no time now to find out -- I'm off to town again!
My husband, Bud, drives slightly differently. I have accused him of being a graduate of the HELEN KELLER SCHOOL OF DRIVING. He is apparently more comfortable driving by Braille, because he is constantly on the Bott’s dots (the little reflective markers used to separate lanes) so he can feel his way along the road. He used to travel. When he was out of town, I would sometimes drive over the dots so I could pretend he was still home.
I could never understand why men doubt women’s ability to drive. Once, when I was backing out of a parking space at Sears, a very SIMPLE thing to do, I noticed a man standing behind me, directing me & waving me on. He said, “Plenty of room, lady!” I wanted to kill him! If I had, I’m sure a jury (of women) would have found sufficient cause to set me free.
Another example: I drove through a very narrow, twisty entryway into a crowded parking lot. The attendant told me they were full. I asked him if there was someplace I could turn around & he told me there wasn’t—I would have to back out the way I came in. I told him OK & put the car in reverse. He started to give me a lesson on how to back my car out. I leaned out the window & said, “No problem—I used to drive race cars for a living!” A total lie, but who cares?
Around 1975 we bought a condo on Maui. A client of Bud’s gave us an old VW bus & had it shipped over. My kids & I brush painted it Yellow Cab yellow & covered it with cartoon drawings. (How often do kids get to paint pictures on a car WITH the owner’s permission?) On the front it said, “Holo holo duck” (wandering around duck) & had my fishducky picture on it. I was taking the kids from Kaanapali to Lahaina one day & stopped at a hotel to pick up a friend. A lady approached & asked if this bus goes
to Lahaina. I told her it did. She asked the cost & I told her it was a free shuttle. I drove her to Lahaina. She may still be there waiting for a ride back. If you see her, tell her we went out of business.
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Suspicious Deaths in the Canyon
There's a new manager at the donkey rescue and the other day, I saw my husband talking to him for a long time down the road. Then my husband came home and told me this:
Yesterday morning, the temperature was 10F
An old man, who lived up in the canyon, had been found murdered and his caretaker was gone. I looked this up in our paper online and found it to be true. The man was found by the caretaker's son, on the floor of his bedroom, with a lot of blood around his neck area. The caretaker, the boys's mother, was nowhere to be found. Detectives are investigating this as a suspicious death and have sent the boy away to live with his father.
and I tried to capture the glitter of the frost
Then the guy told my husband that a black bear had killed three donkeys at the rescue. I found this hard to believe and tried to get more information out of my husband without success. Grrrr, like don't you get it? If there's a crazy bear out there, we are all in danger. I dropped it with him and turned to my blogger friend, Upupaepops, whose blog Meandering Washington is always interesting, informative and full of beautiful photos. My meandering blogger friend also knows about science, nature, biology and I'm sure a whole lot more, and I value her opinion. Upupaepops said, that she found it
with my camera.
hard to believe a bear would do this, unless the guy had visual evidence, such as paw prints or fur. The manager said there were paw prints. She further said that bears are not big carnivores and few carnivores kill for fun. She thought maybe a coyote pack. And she said that Fish & Wildlife authorities should be contacted when any abnormal animal behavior occurs, regardless of species.
I can't believe a bear would do something like that either. I also don't believe a pack of coyotes could take on and kill three donkeys. Not unless they were miniatures, very old or very young. But then I don't know what happened, if the three donkeys were killed at the same time, or if some animal came back, or they were in different enclosures. Wild burros, of which there are many at the rescue, can kill coyotes and even mountain lions. And I have been rushed by a domestic donkey, walking by his enclosure before he was neutered. If the fence had broken, I would not be here to write about these strange occurrences. I'm sure, if attacked, they could muster that again to defend themselves.
And then, finally, the guy told my husband that he had also spotted a mountain lion crossing the fields and wandering past our barn, a couple of early mornings in a row. Of course, cats being cats, they most definitely don't kill for fun. I don't know if he really saw a cougar or perhaps he saw that huge bobcat that lives around here. All I know is that three donkeys must be dead. But what happened? Is there a deranged bear out there in the hills? A large coyote pack on the hunt? A mountain lion lurking? Are my dogs safe? Are we safe walking in the hills?
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Tuesday's Treasures & Things
When I open my cupboard and see my Fiesta Ware dishes, I smile....
and dinner....
Two classic cups and some dinner plates..
All the colors go well together and are fun to combine....
The large bowls are great for gumbo at Christmas, the small ones for soup, salads, and icecream too....
A few of my cups, I have too many and I have been giving some of my classic ones away to friends who collect them. We don't use the cups to drink from, they are too thick around the rim for coffee and tea to taste right and a bit difficult to hold when hot. But who cares, I use them to hold our toothbrushes, I put flowers in them, and I just like having them around.....
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