Temporary Move

I decided to move to a new blog while I am in Canada ...
Come join me at

O Canada, Y'all - the story of one Texas family living in Canada

Welcome to Calgary

I had a great day. I got to visit the office of the company that transported my car, the customs office (for the second time in a week), and the Calgary Police District Office after I was rear ended by an Aussie. And I thought the Canadians were the bad drivers. At least I was still driving the rental and not my still almost brand new Subaru.

We Made It

We made it and have moved in and are unpacked. Three days to put everything away. That is a record for me.

The dog made it. M's new Betta fish made it. J's did not. I killed it within an hour. Not enough water conditioner.

I can see the Rocky Mountains from my kids bedrooms. I see them every time I go to the grocery store or walk to the park. I wonder how long it will take before I start taking the views for granted.

It is cold here. I know I should not be complaining since it is 105 in Houston. But I need a jacket every day and it is July.

We saw Stampede. We saw a baseball game. It is like Houston - except for that weather part. Oh, and those mountains.

It Keeps me From Reading

A new "friend" on another blog asked "What keeps you from reading?" And writing. And posting.

For me lately, it has been the move. I am not sure the reason. We are not going as far this time. I wonder if it is the kids. Or the stuff (this is our first move with cars and furniture). Is it the five years between moves? Our longest stint in a house ever.

I'm not quite sure, but I am tired and sick of the process. And this is a corporate relo ... imagine if I actually had to do any of the work?

I'm also sad. Very sad. A beautiful sorority sister of mine died today from complications related to surgery. She should not have died. She was too young. She was too beautiful and talented. RIP Brigitte.

I am Buying this Shirt

and I am going to wear it on the plane when we move our family to CALGARY!



Yes. This Texas family is moving to Calgary. We have a little apprehension, but we are truly excited.

We have been in this house 5 years. Before that we moved 14 times. In 11 years.

This ain't my first rodeo (or my first move). This ain't even my first international move.

The new job will be tough but a career builder for my husband.

The company will pay for private school.

I'll be close to Lake Louise (skiing is my all time favorite sport).

Anyone have any winter coats for sale?

Perspective

As we decide on our future "country" of residence, I am forced to keep all of the swirling anxiety in perspective. I am well. I have my husband (at my feet this moment playing with the dog) home and alive. My children are strong and here (in the next room playing in a fort of chairs and blankets). They are tough kids who we have raised to weather change (they didn't even blink when we told them we might be moving).

I am lucky. I am blessed. When (if) we move, I will take the most important parts of my life with me.

Are we Moving?

Stay tuned...

But I am not unhappy about recent developments in our lives. I think I just might be ready for a change.

The Ugly American

Now we don't even have to travel for the rest of the world to think we are crass and vulgar ...

What the World See in America

Too Soon Gone

Grete Waitz died yesterday. She inspired me.

My grandmother also died yesterday. She prayed for me.

I suddenly feel very lonely.



The only reason I was able to get out of bed this morning is my belief I will see her again.

Read this Article

How to Get a Real Education

I understand why the top students in America study physics, chemistry, calculus and classic literature. The kids in this brainy group are the future professors, scientists, thinkers and engineers who will propel civilization forward. But why do we make B students sit through these same classes? That's like trying to train your cat to do your taxes—a waste of time and money. Wouldn't it make more sense to teach B students something useful, like entrepreneurship?

He gets it. Also why I am against 100% education. You don't need a college degree to be a electrician. Or a plumber. Or a car mechanic. Or a bank teller. Or a cop.

If you want a college degree, by all means get one. But don't ask me to pay for it.


This is a great article too ... but I wonder how much we had to pay someone for this "knowledge."

A small but growing body of literature suggests that exercising outside can help kids concentrate, learn and build important skills, says Rich, of Children's Hospital Boston.

Anyone who ever was or knows a boy in scouting could have told you this.

COOK'S ILLUSTRATED offers Extra Special Deal ONLY for their BEST Customers

I have been a subscriber of Cook's Illustrated for a few years now. I love the magazine and have always felt it was worth the cost. It tends to be a bit more expensive than other cooking magazines, but it is also higher quality and ad free.

So I was excited today when I received this e-mail ...



With this letter attached from editor Christopher Kimball ...

Dear Loyal Subscriber,

At Cook's Illustrated, offering recipes that work and call-it-like-we-see-it cookware and ingredient ratings to our loyal subscribers is our passion and singular purpose. I like to think that we're pretty successful at it, and hope you agree. I really do go over our records and note our "repeat customers" like you. It's a great way to measure our success.

This dedication to keeping our readers satisfied takes a lot of hard work — and a huge grocery bill — to overcook steaks, under-bake cheesecakes, and create thousands more cooking mistakes along the way to our foolproof recipes. And because we are 100% ADVERTISING FREE, our loyalty is to you, the subscriber, so you can always trust our objective ratings and reviews.

Obviously I'd like to keep you in the Cook's Illustrated family, so I'm extending this one-time opportunity to lock in tremendous savings with our early-renewal offer.

Thank you again for your support. I look forward to providing you with many more years of foolproof cooking.


Sincerely yours,

Christopher Kimball, Founder and Editor

P.S. This is the one and only time you will be offered this early renewal deal. It's a time-limited offer as well, so just click below and lock in your savings!

Needless to say, I want to take advantage of this special offer. I want to lock in savings reserved only for their very BEST customers.

Current Offer:
1 Year (6 issues) for $28.95 — Save 19%

But I don't want to pay more for being a loyal subscriber. I want to pay less. So I thought I would check out what the non-loyal subscribers are paying ...

Yes! Please send me a one-year subscription (6 issues) to Cook's Illustrated. I'll pay just $24.95 — saving 30% off the newsstand price of $35.70.

In this case there is a price for loyalty. It is $4.00.

My Favorite Poem

This has long been one of my favorite poems ...

The Things
by Donald Hall

When I walk in my house I see pictures,
bought long ago, framed and hanging
—de Kooning, Arp, Laurencin, Henry Moore—
that I've cherished and stared at for years,
yet my eyes keep returning to the masters
of the trivial—a white stone perfectly round,
tiny lead models of baseball players, a cowbell,
a broken great-grandmother's rocker,
a dead dog's toy—valueless, unforgettable
detritus that my children will throw away
as I did my mother's souvenirs of trips
with my dead father, Kodaks of kittens,
and bundles of cards from her mother Kate.


It was featured as poem of the day on Poets.org.

Do You Take Jesse Jackson Seriously?

Does anyone take him seriously anymore?

On Thursday’s “Martin Bashir” on MSNBC, Jackson, the founder and president of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, said the budget battle on the Republican side represents an effort to make the federal government “dysfunctional.”

I don't know about that ... I think it already is.

“You have those who believe in states’ rights and those who believe in a more perfect union,” he said. “States’ right are anti-civil rights, anti-workers’ right to bargain, anti-social justice, pro-rich and significantly insensitive to poor people — that was the great divide 150 years ago and it’s the great divide today in the ideological sense.”

Mr. Jackson, I hate to be the one to tell you this, but they are also constitutional.

Amendment 10 - Powers of the States and People. Ratified 12/15/1791.

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

Which way do you want it Mr. Jackson? Was the Civil War about slavery (as my 5th grader was recently taught) or was it about states' rights? Cause you can make a whole group of people feel bad about the first. But I don't think they will feel bad about the second.

Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2011/04/07/jesse-jackson-declares-federal-budget-fight-the-american-civil-war-all-over-again/#ixzz1IwNTCvhI

My Dream House

That is it. From House Beautiful. But I don't want it near a beach. I want it smack in the middle of a large tract of land in West Texas. A high fence and a gate code would be nice so no one could bother me. But that is a different post about my growing misanthropic tendencies.

I love the mid-century modern aesthetic of the house. I love the simple clean lines. I love the big windows and the porches. I love that I think you could easily drive a tractor right up to it. A green John Deere.

Mid-century modern with a touch of John Deere. My family. And some chickens. And a pool. And no one for miles. Doesn't that just about sound perfect.

And since it is Texas ... maybe a cow.

The Lost Fairy Tale

My kids have never seen Shrek. In the first place, I honestly just didn't care for the movie. In the second, I want a real fairy tale. I want the princess to be beautiful.

My friend, Dr. Louis Markos, wrote, "To most modern viewers, the transformation of Fiona into an ogre is 'no big deal.' Many would even hail it as teaching children the 'valuable' egalitarian lesson that external beauty is unimportant, an elitist, 'bourgeois' hang-up that needlessly divides and engenders low self-esteem in girls who can't make the grade."

But the Ugly Duckling doesn't stay ugly. He turns into a swan. The Beast turns into a Prince, and Cinderella beats out the ugly sisters for the love of hers. That is how I like my fairy tales.

Dr. Markos continues, "More and more, we are doing the same for ugliness: enshrining it at the heart of our culture, while beauty is left to atrophy and decay."

I've been thinking about this lately because of a 2nd grade project my younger son must complete. He has to recreate a fairy tale character out of craft supplies and return it to school. The most popular character this year ... Shrek. I kept my mouth shut during the discussion (I am learning), but I was just sad.

M will be recreating Prince Charming. And not the Prince Charming of Shrek or Into the Woods. He will be recreating the Prince Charming of Cinderella, Snow White and Sleeping Beauty. He will be the hero who rescues the damsel in distress. He will be dashing and defeat the dragon. He will be faithful. He will not be an ogre.

For Poetry Month and for My Son

When You are Old
by W. B. Yeats

When you are old and grey and full of sleep,
And nodding by the fire, take down this book,
And slowly read, and dream of the soft look
Your eyes had once, and of their shadows deep;

How many loved your moments of glad grace,
And loved your beauty with love false or true,
But one man loved the pilgrim soul in you,
And loved the sorrows of your changing face;

And bending down beside the glowing bars,
Murmur, a little sadly, how Love fled
And paced upon the mountains overhead
And hid his face amid a crowd of stars.

March Revisited

March was a tough month. I don't really want to relive it, or revisit it. I was going to share my troubles, but I am not sure I have the mindset right now to allow me to view what has gone on with any sort of calm demeanor. Let me just say that I did not have to deal with the kind of crap my older son is dealing with until much, much later than 5th grade. Does he bring some of the trouble on himself? Well, yes, if being educated and outspoken causes trouble. I guess he does.

Let me just discuss history for a moment. It happened. It doesn't make it right. But it doesn't disappear from the history books because you don't like that it happened.

BOOKS READ

Shakespeare's Sonnets and Poems - Folger Shakespeare Library
No Fear Shakespeare - Sonnets - Spark Notes
Poetry. I didn't keep this up in March. Just didn't have the desire.

The Testament - John Grisham
Fiction. This was on the bookshelf at the home we visited over Spring Break. Typical Grisham fare. Not good. Not bad. Nice for the beach.

Moonwalking with Einstein - Joshua Foer
Non-fiction. Very disappointing. I expected something more like Word Freak by Fastis, which I absolutely loved. I am getting a little tired of these young reporters thinking that their lives are ALL THAT. There is Foer. Then there was the guy who read the encyclopedia and tried to live like the Bible. The guy who attended Liberty University. That was somewhat interesting. Maybe I just need to move on.

Crazy U - Andrew Ferguson
Non-fiction. See notes on Moonwalking. Enough already!

Decision Points - George Bush
Non-fiction. I'll just say it. I like the former President. Many, many moons ago, I worked for his dad. I like the whole family. I still don't agree with every decision 43 made, but I better understand why he made some of them.

MOVIES WATCHED

Legend of the Guardians - Home
The boys liked it. I couldn't sit through it.

Chariots of Fire - Home
The only thing I remembered correctly from watching this movie years ago was the music. It was pretty boring and not that entertaining. I think I had it confused with the story of Roger Bannister. I can be excused. They are both about running very fast. Four Minutes/The Four Minute Mile. One of them was a much better movie.

Up In The Air - Home
About the middle of this, I had great hopes. By the end, I was just sad and depressed.

PROJECTS COMPLETED

Planned all summer activities. This includes Scout camp for both boys, the EAA fly-in in Osh-Kosh, Wisconsin, Mount Rushmore, and Paris (without the kids). Gotta love those tag-a-long business trips.

Began 2011 Photo Book. I really did it. I did not procrastinate. I got the first three months of photos into the book and saved.


April is always better. One can only hope. I hope to finish some of the books I started (J and I are now reading Tom Sawyer together while he tackle 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea on his own). I'm making another go at Mrs. Dalloway and Ulysses. I made the mistake of trying Mrs. Dalloway on the Kindle. The Kindle seems to work best for me for books I don't need to think about while reading. If the book requires much thought or even a pencil for making notes, I need the paper version.

Amalgamation #6

Why Your Flight is Late - Really

Dooce - I don't read her or Pioneer Woman. And this is why I will never make $50,000 of my blog ... I will not use my kids or my family for fame. This is my life and I only want you (well most of you) in a part of it.

February Revisited

BOOKS READ

Shakespeare's Sonnets and Poems - Folger Shakespeare Library
No Fear Shakespeare - Sonnets - Spark Notes
Poetry. I continued my almost daily reading of the sonnets. I am through #50.

Cleopatra: A Life - Stacy Schiff

Non-Fiction. Most of the reviews I read claimed that this book was more like a novel than a work of non-fiction. I'll have to disagree. While I am glad I read it for the perspective it has given me on current affairs, I wish I had not used my Christmas gift card on it. I should have waited for it to arrive at the library or in paperback.

Room - Emma Donoghue

Fiction. I am not usually a partaker of current popular fiction. I shun it. I usually don't like it. Last year's The Help would be a perfect example of a book everyone else (well, almost everyone else) loved but I couldn't stand. I couldn't even make 50 pages. But a fellow blogger, Girl Detective, said she liked it and I trust her opinion. So I downloaded it to my brand new Kindle (actually my husband's, but he hates it so I have adopted it.)

I liked it well enough. It was a perfect read for the Kindle as it is not a book I would necessarily keep in my permanent collection. I read it and then proceeded to archive it. If you read Girl Detective's review referenced above, you will get a good idea how I felt about it. With all the depth and detail the author put into the first half of the novel, I thought she could have paid more attention to the second half. It seemed to fall a little flat at the end.

Restoring Beauty: The Good, The True and The Beautiful in the Writings of C.S. Lewis - Dr.Louis Markos

Non-Fiction

The Art of Racing in the Rain - Garth Stein

Fiction. My mother-in-law thought I would like this book about a young family told from the perspective of the family dog. It was cute and painless, but it is definitely not a work of enduring genius. I would never have purchased it for myself and I would only recommend it if you need a distraction on a long car ride and you have finished everything else.

Uncle Tom's Cabin - Harriet Beecher Stowe

Fiction. Classic. This was one of the twelve classics with a big "C" that I wanted to read this year. I can't believe that I have never read it before. I understand that it is no longer in fashion to teach and read this because of the stereotypes that it perpetuates. However, I think we cannot ignore it's historical value as a powerful tool of the abolitionist movement. Or its equally damning look at both the prejudices and evils of Northerners as well as Southerners.

Our Horses in Egypt - Rosalind Belben

Fiction. I tried. That is about all I can say. I tried to read this book. I tried to like this book. I tried to understand this book. I am still trying. I am half-way through and am still not sure I understand all of the connections and characters.

Like last month's Bread Givers, this was a choice of The Wolves. That is 2 for 2 I didn't really like. Maybe I will skip March?

The Hobbit - J.R.R. Tolkein

Fiction. This was my favorite of the month. My 11 year old son and I read it together. We would read a chapter and discuss it, then read another. I liked this for the connection with him as well as the story. I was especially drawn to the distinction between good and evil, and I am always a sucker for a good "journey" story.

MOVIES VIEWED

Black Beauty - Home

We were sitting around one cold and dark evening. No one wanted to leave the cozy living room. So J chose the movie and we all laughed and cried.

Friday Night Lights - Home

Please don't think that this is some kind of hyped up caricature of Texas football. It is spot on. And let me tell you, this kind of behavior starts with the parents of second grade students. I think they are crazy and I find the behavior shameful and dangerous.

Did You Hear About The Morgans - Home

About A Boy - Home

An Education - Home

My husband took the boys camping so I indulged in a chick flick fest all by myself. It was a wonderful weekend with Hugh Grant et. al. These were all nice movies. Nothing spectacular, but what I needed at the time.

The Great Waldo Pepper - Home
We love all things flying and aviation around here, so most of us loved this movie. I'll watch any movie with Robert Redford in his prime. J did not like it. He suffers from a deathly fear of fire.

Secretariat - Home

This was a good movie, but an incredible story. Of course, I always love the underdog.

The Social Network - Home

Not my choice for an Oscar. I find little value in Facebook and just a little more in the movie. Interesting .. I saw an interview with the actor who plays Mark Zuckerberg ... he is not on Facebook and does not own a TV.

Super Size Me - Home

I will never eat at McDonald's again. And It will be a while before I will be able to eat at any fast food restaurant. I want the boys to see this (with a little creative fast-forwarding).

PROJECTS COMPLETED

Graduated Six Boys from Cub Scouts to Boy Scouts
You have no idea how happy I was to see these boys move on after five years. And sad.

That is 13 books and 18 movies so far this year. I'm disappointed there are more movies than books, but I'll chalk that up to miserable (for Texas) cold weather, a new subscription to Netflix and a lack of books that even seem interesting. Up next ... Mrs. Dalloway and maybe something light to go with it.

The Presidents

I saw a great idea over at Scheiss Weekly and I decided to copy it with my own favorites ... a quote from each of the Presidents. Whether we agree with their politics or not, everyone has something worthy of listening to.

George Washington
If freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter.

John Adams
In politics the middle way is none at all.

Thomas Jefferson
The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.

James Madison
A well-instructed people alone can be permanently a free people.

James Monroe
The best form of government is that which is most likely to prevent the greatest sum of evil.

John Quincy Adams
If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.

Andrew Jackson
One man with courage makes a majority.

Martin Van Buren
It is easier to do a job right than to explain why you didn't.

William Harrison
To Englishmen, life is a topic, not an activity.

John Tyler
Wealth can only be accumulated by the earnings of industry and the savings of frugality.

James Polk
The passion for office among members of Congress is very great, if not absolutely disreputable, and greatly embarrasses the operations of the Government. They create offices by their own votes and then seek to fill them themselves.

Zachary Taylor
It would be judicious to act with magnanimity towards a prostrate foe.

Millard Fillmore
May God save the country, for it is evident that the people will not.

Franklin Pierce
Frequently the more trifling the subject, the more animated and protracted the discussion.

James Buchanan
What is right and what is practicable are two different things.

Abraham Lincoln
If you look for the bad in people expecting to find it, you surely will.

Andrew Johnson
The goal to strive for is a poor government but a rich people.

Ulysses S. Grant
Every human being, of whatever origin, of whatever station, deserves respect. We must each respect others even as we respect ourselves.

Rutherford Hayes
He serves his party best who serves his country best.

James Garfield
Next in importance to freedom and justice is popular education, without which neither freedom nor justice can be permanently maintained.

Chester A. Arthur
I may be president of the United States, but my private life is nobody's damned business.

Grover Cleveland
Though the people support the government, the government should not support the people.

Benjamin Harrison
The bud of victory is always in the truth.

William McKinley
I have never been in doubt since I was old enough to think intelligently that I would someday be made president.

Theodore Roosevelt
It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly. So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.

William Taft
Don't write so that you can be understood, write so that you can't be misunderstood.

Woodrow Wilson
We are citizens of the world. The tragedy of our times is that we do not know this.

Warren Harding
America's present need is not heroics, but healing; not nostrums but normalcy; not revolution, but restoration.

Calvin Coolidge
Don't expect to build up the weak by pulling down the strong.

Herbert Hoover
Words without actions are the assassins of idealism.

Franklin D. Roosevelt
There is nothing to fear but fear itself.

Harry Truman
It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit.

Dwight D. Eisenhower
In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable.

John F. Kennedy
All of us do not have equal talent, but all of us should have an equal opportunity to develop our talents.

Lyndon Johnson
You aren't learning anything when you're talking.

Richard Nixon
Only if you have been in the deepest valley, can you ever know how magnificent it is to be on the highest mountain.

Gerald Ford
Truth is the glue that holds government together.

Jimmy Carter
If you fear making anyone mad, then you ultimately probe for the lowest common denominator of human achievement.

Ronald Reagan
Within the covers of the Bible are all the answers for all the problems men face.

George H.W. Bush
The anchor in our world today is freedom, holding us steady in times of change, a symbol of hope to all the world.

Bill Clinton
There is nothing wrong with America that cannot be cured by what is right with America.

George Bush
To those of you who received honours, awards and distinctions, I say well done. And to the C students, I say you, too, can be president of the United States.

Barack Obama
If you're walking down the right path and you're willing to keep walking, eventually you'll make progress.