Metamorphosis

Hello there!  It’s been a while since I’ve had the time to type out my thought processes. I’ve missed writing and wanted to take a moment to jot down something.  

My life has been filled with changes lately.  What do I want to do when I grow up? is a phrase I ponder daily.  Really, do we ever narrow it down?  Is it okay to want to pursue several, highly different avenues, or is that a breakdown in the making? 

I’m making a major career shift through down-sizing; my kids are growing up.  In two days, Rosie will graduate from community college, receiving both her AA degree and high school diploma.  In two minuscule, tiny, microscopic months, she’ll be moving from sea to shining sea; she’ll be more than a three day car trip away from home. She’ll make the third graduate, and the second to fly the coop, in the family.

Zander finished his first full year at university.  He’s “back” for the summer, but promptly took off for a state far away to hang out with his girl friend and her family. He’s been gone almost three weeks.  

Tony is working and thinking about moving out, going to school, or both.

Tee decided to attend community college for the last two years of high school.  He signed up for classes last week; he’ll be taking 16 credit hours in the fall. He’ll start driving this summer. 

Where do I go from here? How do you move from the full household, cooking for six, not being able to think because it’s too noisy, to shopping comfortably at TJs because they cater to 2 serving meal households?  I know there’s “life after kids” and that grown children doesn’t mean I’m no longer a mother.  Motherhood, its joy and worry, doesn’t have a retirement age.  However, it does take on the attributes of a hobby, rather than a career, after a certain point. 

If anyone’s out there, what do you want to be when you grow up? 

Exercise Commitment: An Update

Hello Fellow Exercise Buddies! Here’s my long overdue update, regarding my exercise commitment.

Yes, I’m still trying to incorporate exercise into my week.  I have to say, however, it’s been difficult to do so on a regular basis.  My allergies continued to kick my ass through out early spring.  In April, at the end of my proverbial rope, I read something about asthma over at TMM. Sweet, sweet kudos to feralfae for sharing this information! I began brewing tea with rosemary, ginger and mullien. It helped significantly reduce the inflammation I was experiencing, as in I could at times breathe simultaneously through my nostrils. Hurrah!

My mother-in-law is an herbalist, so while visiting her I shared my new tea experiment, and she pulled out some books to show me what mullien looks like. This way, when I see a good source of it I can do some wildcrafting. As we poked around in her library, I discovered some advice I hadn’t been privy to before: try eliminating wheat and all dairy from your diet.

Now, I knew reducing cow’s milk consumption was a productive move for asthmatics and sinusitis sufferers. But the full monty?  No cheese, no yogurt?  And all wheat?  Whole grain, wheat germ, bran, everything?  In desperation, I decided to give it a whirl.  All the books I perused suggested a 2-3 day fruit fast before eliminating wheat and dairy from your diet, so I completed a 2 day fruit fast before embarking on my diet experiment. 

Damn— it worked out quite well.  Most of the time I am breathing freely through my nose.  No post-nasal drip.  No one asking me if I have a nasty cold.  My wheezing instances have reduced significantly.  I’ve been gardening without incident.  I’ve walked the hills in our neighborhood without too much trouble ( I’ve had to use a puff from my rescue inhaler on two occasions).  I’m sleeping better.  

My friend, Kayely, is into yoga.  I asked her if she’d show me some poses.  She did, along with doing an exercise ball work out with me.  We had such a good time, we found a place near our places of work to attend some yoga classes together. We’ll probably be starting up next week. She even gave me an extra mat to use and everything. 

About 3 weeks into sans wheat and dairy living, I attended two back-to-back events which features meals with no sans alternatives.  I partook in the food offered, and boy did I pay for it.  I was headachy, stuffed up, my joints ached. It took me several days of elimination eating to return to a less congested, reduced inflammation state.   

Despite my new-found nostril freedom, I noticed I’ve become conditioned to breathing through my mouth, and often revert back to breathing that way. It’s like breaking a bad habit— I have to redirect my thoughts to “breathe deeply” and “breathe through my nose.”  The yoga should help.  There’s several exercises to try specifically to breathe better, and as an exercise/relaxation discipline, concentrating and observing your breath is encouraged.  

I’m eager to hear how you are doing.  What do you have to celebrate?  I’m celebrating two free-flowing nostrils and looser waistbands.  What are you struggling with?  Me— getting into a daily habit of more movement. 

Rain Drops Keep Falling on my Head…

photo courtesy of bigfoto.com

The above picture is a likeness of what we’ve been seeing too often lately when we look toward the sky. I turned on the heat in our office this afternoon. It was cold! In today’s PI : Coldest June in more than a century [note: the year they reference in the article to compare "worst ever" June weather is 1917, so unless I missed something, the title of the article should read "Coldest June in Almost a Century"].

Although, I must say I’d rather put on sweater and warm sockies than deal with the heat and humidity the east coast is suffering from. It is good soup weather, and soup is cheap to make.

edit: article title changed to A June for the Record Books . That’s a more appropriate title.
Check this out: Snow in Pullman, in June!

A somber Let’s Yak About Art

I doubt this case has been getting much national press. It’s barely been covered locally. Roxanna Brown, a U.S. citizen who lived in Thailand, and worked as the director of the Southeast Asian Ceramics Museum at Bangkok University in Thailand, was arrested in the Seattle area before making a scheduled speech at the University of Washington.

The first news reported about the case, that I read, was a small article published on the 12th of May, stating she had been arrested as a result of in a sting operation centered on CA museums. The feds were looking for smuggled artifacts, and discovered that Brown’s electronic signature was being used by others to inflate the value of art being donated to Southern California museums. She was indicted on the charge of wire fraud. This particular article doesn’t go into much detail at all.

A larger article appeared in the Seattle PI on May 12th, revealing she had been scooped up on Friday, May 9th, on one count of wire fraud. The use of her electronic signature to falsify appraisal documents resulted in fraudulent tax deductions. The article also states Brown’s age, 62, that she was too ill to attend the scheduled hearing on the 12th, and that she was arrested due to the indictment filed by the U.S. Attorney’s office out of Los Angeles. Also of interest is the reported information about the people who actually used the electronic signature, Jonathan and Cari Markell. They own a gallery in CA and have yet to be charged of any wrong doing.

The next news about Brown’s case appeared on May 14th: Indicted museum director found dead in WA federal prison.

Not only was Brown arrested, she was being held at the Federal Detention Center in Sea Tac, which had gone unreported in earlier articles. Why was she being held at the detention center? Was there no bail set? She was indicted on one charge, only one. What is going on here? An article that appeared in the Seattle Times on May 14th stated that she was able to make it to court on Tuesday and she was facing extradition to CA. Was she being held because she was considered a flight risk? I’m still wondering what an ill 62 year old was doing in the Federal Detention Center, being held on one count of a white collar crime.

The article that appeared in the PI later on the 14th states previously unpublished information: Brown’s death may have resulted from a heart attack; her brother insists that Brown maintained her innocence until her death; the university she worked for denies any smuggling; and Brown has a published record of being an advocate for proper excavation and documentation of antiquities, especially if you are a buyer or collector. She was quoted in a Malaysian newspaper as stating, “If there is nothing published, then the material is fake or has been looted, and (the buyer) is willfully participating in destroying history.”

Now, keep in mind Brown hadn’t been charged with smuggling, even though her charges came from a five year federal probe into antiquities smuggling. Her charge was about tax fraud. Again, it was reported that the people using her electronic signature, the Markells, remained uncharged. What’s the deal? They were the ones caught using it, they were the ones committing tax fraud, and yet they remain at large. However, the art historian was behind bars in prision, before her death? Something stinks here.

The article that appeared in the Times on May 15th states that Brown was checked by medical staff at the federal detention center on Monday, May 12th, as she was exhibiting “flulike symptoms,” the severity of which were the cause for Brown missing her court date on the 12th. Furthermore, it was reported that Brown was using a wheel chair due to the loss of her leg in 1980. Was that common for her, or was she not able to use a prosthetic limb in jail? The article does not say.

This information was also reported in the Times article: “According to an affidavit filed in connection with the searches, the gallery’s owners helped an undercover agent obtain an appraisal — over Brown’s signature — of just under $5,000 for several items the agent purchased for $1,500 cash.” The gallery owners in question are the Markells. So far, not one newspaper report has given one hint, one piece of evidence, of Brown having any knowledge of her signature being used. Is that due to the case that was developed against Brown that led to her indictment?

On Friday, May 16th, the Times reports that Brown died of an infection. She had a perforated gastric ulcer which developed into an infection called peritonitis. This article delves further into the information surrounding Brown’s condition on the 12th that caused her to miss her court appearance. She was vomiting and exhibiting flulike symptoms. These symptoms are characteristic of peritonitis, a condition that is a surgical emergency. The federal detention center would not respond to questions about Brown’s medical treatment before her death; the only thing that was stated is that the detention center does not have night medical staff. No response was given when asked if the staff at the detention center sought outside help for Brown before she died.

So far, we have information about a senior citizen art historian nabbed for her alleged role in a tax fraud crime concerning Thai antiquities. Her alleged crime is resulted in only one charge. She’s missing a leg and is using a wheel chair; she started puking and having symptoms of the flu, enough so she couldn’t make it to court. I’m sorry, but the charge does not sound serious enough for lock up at the fdc, nor did she appear to be a huge flight risk. I think it would be pretty easy to spot a wheel chair bound, puking woman. She wouldn’t have made it onto any plane. What in the hell was this woman doing locked up at the Sea Tac facility? Please note this is the same facility exposed in the 2007 Seattle PI article Imprisoned, unprotected.

I hope those close to Brown will be able to uncover what actually occurred during the last hours of her life and help clear her name if she is innocent of any wrong-doing.

Practically Edible

I’ve been perusing the website Practically Edible, which heralds itself as The Web’s Biggest Food Encyclopaedia.  I stumbled across it when I was searching for information on how to make my own grain flours, specifically millet. It’s mind-boggling how much food information is stored on this website. I wish I could come up with a witty, foodie way to describe Practically Edible but I’m too tired. 

Anyhoo,  it’s a neat place to surf if you like to cook, like to eat and like to learn a little history/theory/food science. I read an article this evening about Medieval Cooking (note: I can only link to the cuisine web page; you can find the article in the left hand sidebar menu), and I found it fascinating.  I can’t vouch for its accuracy, but I like that the site admins ask for reports on inaccuracies you note in articles on their website (located at the top of article pages).

The most interesting aspect of the article, in my opinion, was the part discussing how medieval beliefs about food and eating centered on the individual need, rather than current day inclusion-ism (whole wheat is good for everyone; citrus is the best way for everyone to get their vitamin C).  I remember the whole humours thing from sophomore ancient history, but it clicked for me reading about how belief in humours was applied to daily activities, like cooking and eating. On the surface, medieval thoughts about how to approach your own diet, tailored to your unique body and situation, sounds much saner than current, changing daily “expert advice” that should be imposed on every man, woman and child.  I’d like to explore this subject more, and the article points out research keywords. 

I also enjoyed the section on sweet and sour.  Foodies are pretty fortunate here in the Puget Sound area;  unique presentations, featuring asian influences, abound. I’ve eaten, and thoroughly enjoyed, dishes that combine sweet with savory, like a seafood or meat accented with sweet fruit, and have been incorporating such ideas in my own kitchen more.  I think we need to embrace sweet combined with savory here in the West.  The best example of such cooking I’ve encountered, personally, was a dish that combined prawns, walnuts, lychee fruit, pineapple and honey, laid out on a bed of fresh spring greens and sweet potato straws.  Yum!!!

On a rainy afternoon, or during a lull in your day, go check out Practically Edible. I think you will find it worth your time.

What happened to talking things out?

Kirsten highlights in this post that the best way to handle neighborly disputes is to talk things over and come to a compromise. The bullying approach one city is taking to tackle differences in yard upkeep is to spray plants the city dubs weeds and then billing the victimized resident. WTF?!

In our neighborhood, we’re going through a somewhat milder rash of bullying. A few of our neighbors, along with us, received quasi-polite “naughty neighbor” letters from someone who didn’t even have the balls to sign them. The anonymous author of the letters doesn’t appreciate how we keep our yards, or where we put our garbage cans, or put trailers, or how long projects are taking (or all of those things if he deems you an ultimate offender).

Furthermore, we discovered tonight, when speaking with our neighbor across the street, he stopped doing lawn care, due to letter complaints he received about his trucks and employees coming to his house before work. Mind you, he created a place to park his vehicles, primarily out of sight, on the side of his house that butts up to green belt on three sides. You had to be standing right next to his house to see much of his vehicles at all. His employees were always quiet. I hear my neighbor’s dog bark more than I ever heard anything from his employees. Our neighbor changed jobs to appease some neighborly tightass. Maybe he was ready for a change, but it sure appeared that the change was more motivated by keeping the complainer quiet.

We’ve been transforming our front yard for the last 3 years. Yes, it’s been slow, but we’ve paid for it along the way rather than finance it with credit. Yes, I agree it’s not perfect, but we removed diseased trees from our lot, and brought in helpful flora that’s brought more birds and butterflies into our yard. Much of it is both perennial and edible. I think that the anonymous author should come and speak with us about this situation, rather than send passive-aggressive mail. And if anyone tries to spray our yard, he could end up harming us because we eat a bunch of what we grow in our gardens.

Talk isn’t cheap anymore— it’s priceless. If you have a beef with your neighbor, try and work it out together.

Search Engine Silliness

To the itchy person who stumbled upon this blog by searching for pimple like things on your virginia, get thee to the doctor and pick up a dictionary on the way home.

It’s a Dog’s Life Montage

I’d like to thank gennimcmahon and Kirsten for their responses about fear aggression in dogs. After looking at the link Kirsten posted in her comment, along with some further internet research, I contacted a local animal behaviorist. She emailed me back, and now I need to set up a prelim phone consult, to see if I can afford her fee.

I thought you all might enjoy seeing what the pups have been up to. They’ve been hard at work, when Mr. Skeeter hasn’t been sidetracked by his awkwardness around strangers.

Here’s Miss Virginia at the office.
In this picture, Miss Virginia is trying to hold off Mr. Skeeter’s interior design wild-hair.
Title “Look Ma! We redecorated for you! Miss Virginia decided she couldn’t beat him, so she joined him.“
All work and no play makes Mr. Skeeter a dull boy, so he takes a moment to relax after redecorating (this is a daily wild-hair).
Thank you for opening my present for me, birthday girl. Now hand the stuffed toy over, pronto.

Fear Aggression in Dogs

Well, as lovable, comfortable and cute Mr. Skeeter is with our immediate family that lives currently in our home, he’s shown signs of fear aggression with people outside of his little, intimate sphere.

Yesterday was one of his bad days. When Zander stopped by the house for a bit, he barked at him. When Zander tried to pet him, Skeeter growled and snapped at him. After a lengthy time-out outside, and then on his blankie, I petted Skeeter to let him know I forgave him. All seemed well until a family friend tried to pet Skeeter (under my supervision) on the side of his face. That area is usually okay with him; he really doesn’t like to be petted on the top of his head, which I guess is a sign of dominance to a dog. Even with me right there, Skeeter snapped. Another friend who was here visiting, but who didn’t see either snapping episode, tried to pet Skeeter as he laid on his blankie— this resulted in a third snap.

No skin was broken in any of these instances, but I fear that if left to smolder that we will have a bite incident on our hands at some point. I’ve been doing some research on fear aggression in dogs, and the prognosis isn’t good I’m afraid. From what I’ve read so far, even with intensive treatment and behavior modification, the fear aggression can be contained but never eliminated.

Skeeter is a great dog. He can be so loving and playful. I want to do all I can to help him. Do you have any stories you can share with me on how you’ve handled a dog with fear aggression? A refresher: he’s a young (approximately a year old) Australian Cattle Dog mix. I know some of what he’s exhibiting relates to his breed characteristics, but there’s something else there beyond the basic instincts of his breed.

Thank you in advance.

Article on Raw Food Diet

Taran’s mentioned her raw food diet quest in several comments in the exercise commitment and update section.  It’s too late for many links.  I’ll do it tomorrow.  I read this article tonight and thought it might be of interest to some of my readers. It’s food for thought (Yes, a bad pun. It’s late and I can’t get the song Iron Man out of my head.).